The campaign of Prince Svyatoslav, who crushed the Khazar Khaganate. Svyatoslav the Brave. The defeat of Khazaria, the conquest of Zalesye, campaigns for the Danube
In the year 6472 (964). [...] And [Svyatoslav] went to the Oka river and the Volga, and came across the Vyatichi, and asked the Vyatichi: “To whom do you give tribute?” They answered: “We give the Khazars a crack from a plow.”
In the year 6473 (965). Svyatoslav went to the Khazars. Having heard, the Khazars went out to meet them, led by their prince kagan, and agreed to fight, and in the war with them Svyatoslav the Khazars defeated them and took their city of Belaya Vezha. And he defeated the yas and kasogs, and came to Kyiv.
In the year 6474 (966). Vyatichi defeated Svyatoslav and laid tribute to them.
DELETE AND RESPECT
The spirit of daring and enterprise developed most strongly under Svyatoslav, when success followed success. Remote crowds went with him to the steppes, defeated the Khazars, to whom their ancestors once paid tribute. This was supposed to greatly elevate the people's feeling, attach the peoples to Kyiv even more and inspire respect for it; for such glorious deeds came from Kyiv.
The initial words of the legend about Svyatoslav show a set of squads, daring men, who, as was usually the case then, having heard about the brave leader, flocked to him from everywhere for glory and prey. Therefore, Svyatoslav performed his exploits with the help of one of his squads, and not with the combined forces of all the tribes subject to Rus': and for sure, when describing the campaigns, his chronicler does not calculate the tribes that took part in them. Svyatoslav recruited many and brave warriors who were like him in everything: this can only be said about a select squad, and not about a large army made up of different tribes. The very method of warfare shows that it was fought with a small selective squad, which allowed Svyatoslav to do without a wagon train and make quick transitions: he fought, walking easily, like a leopard, that is, he made unusually fast transitions, jumping, so to speak, like the one named beast.
THE WARS OF SVYATOSLAV AND THE CRASH OF THE KHAZAR KAGANATE
Svyatoslav gained fame as a prince-warrior. He undertook the first campaigns against the Khazar Khaganate. By the X century. The Khazars lost power over the Dnieper region, and the city of Sarkel (Belaya Vezha) in the lower reaches of the Don became their main outpost on the western borders. The Kaganate retained power over the lands of the Vyatichi in the Oka and Volga basins. The dispute over who should collect tribute from the Vyatichi caused a clash between Kievan Rus and Khazaria.
In 964, Svyatoslav gathered a squad and, as the chronicler narrates, moved to the Oka and the Volga. There he "climbed" the Vyatichi. To the question: “To whom do you give tribute?” - Vyatichi answered - "Khazars". The Vyatichi tribe was numerous and warlike. The forests protected them from the Norman river fleets. Having gathered to fight with the Khazars, the Kiev prince did not get involved in a war with the Vyatichi. After wintering in the Dnieper region, the Kiev prince moved to Khazaria the following summer. It is believed that during two campaigns (965-969) Svyatoslav's troops defeated the main cities of the Khazars - Sarkel, Itil and Semender - and destroyed the Khazar Khaganate.
The history of the Khazar war was reflected in Russian and Arabic sources. The Kievannals report that in 965 Svyatoslav with a retinue went to the Don to Sarkel, defeated the army of the kagan and captured the fortress, after which he turned south, defeated the Yassians (Ossetians) and Kasogs (Circassians) and left the North Caucasus for Kiev. The invasion of Svyatoslav could not be the direct cause of the collapse of Khazaria. The Kiev prince limited himself to ruining the western outskirts of Khazaria.
Oriental writings serve as a valuable addition to Russian sources. In the Notes of the Arab geographer Ibn Haukal, information is given about the attack of the Rus on the Khazar cities in the Volga region. The message is of particular value in view of the fact that at the time of the attack in 968-969. Ibn Haukal was located near the Khazar borders on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. According to the Arab writer, the Rus ravaged the city of Bulgar on the Volga. It follows that the Normans came to Khazaria not from the Don, but from the Middle Volga. The Volga trade route from Scandinavia to the Caspian Sea was mastered long ago by the Normans. Obviously, following this path, the Rus descended to the lower reaches of the Volga and captured the capital of Khazaria, Itil. Then their flotilla went to the Caspian Sea and there the Rus ravaged the old capital of Khazaria Semender.
The Kievan chronicles do not report a word about the campaign of Svyatoslav's troops to the Volga and the Caspian Sea, the Arab geographer does not mention the campaign of the Rus to the Don. Obviously, it was about different and different campaigns, in which different forces participated. The opinion that all the actions of the Rus in the vast area from the Danube to the Transcaucasus were directed from a single center - Kyiv, does not correspond to reality. In 968-969. Svyatoslav waged a difficult war with the Bulgarian kingdom on the Danube, then liberated Kyiv from the Pechenegs, after which he returned to the Balkans again. Neither he nor his army had the opportunity to participate in the Khazar campaign. The defeat of Khazaria, described by Ibn Haukal, could only be carried out by very large forces. These forces (despite the fact that Kyiv did not take part in the campaign) could only be assembled in Scandinavia. In the X century. many Norman detachments and armies operated in Eastern and Western Europe, and Scandinavia and Denmark remained their incubator mainly ...
While Khazaria remained powerful, the forces of the Normans were tied up. The defeat of the Khaganate released these forces, and they immediately fell upon Byzantium. A distant consequence of the collapse of the Khazar kingdom was the intensification of the onslaught of nomads, rushing through the lower reaches of the Volga to Eastern Europe.
The Khazar elite is believed to have pursued a self-serving policy that brought many misfortunes to the neighboring peoples and the Khazars themselves, because of which the Khazar Khaganate turned into a chimera (L. N. Gumilyov). The facts refute such an assessment. For several centuries, the khaganate served as a kind of barrier that made it difficult for nomadic hordes to penetrate from Asia to Europe. The hordes that pressed the Khazars had a huge numerical superiority, but Khazaria resisted them with the help of a relatively small army and a well-established diplomatic service. The Khazars withstood a long war with the Arab Caliphate. The Arabs were victorious, but they could not win back the North Caucasus from Khazaria. Excellent sailors - the Normans were a thunderstorm for coastal cities. But their fleets could not wage war with the steppe nomads. Having passed through the Finnish and Slavic lands with relative ease, they lingered for a long time at the borders of Khazaria. The Kaganate avoided a protracted war with the Rus by opening the way to the Caspian Sea for them. The trade expeditions of the Rus alternated with military raids that met the goals of the Khazar diplomacy.
Skrynnikov R.G. Old Russian state
THE RESULTS WAS EXCEPTIONAL
The description of the Khazar campaign of Svyatoslav in the annals is framed on both sides by the mention of the Vyatichi, who previously paid tribute (travel duty?) to the Khazars. This to some extent determines the route of the campaign, during which the Russian troops fought in Volga Bulgaria, in the land of the Burtases and in Khazaria, where they took Itil and the ancient capital of the kaganate - Semender on the Caspian Sea. Then the peoples of the North Caucasus were conquered - the Yases (Ossetians) and Kasogs (Adyghe tribes). The campaign was completed on the Taman Peninsula, which from that time became the Russian Tmutarakan ...
The length of the trip is about 6 thousand kilometers. Its implementation took, presumably, at least three years with wintering somewhere on the Volga and the North Caucasus. It is difficult to say which years these were; Combining the data of the chronicle and Ibn Haukal, we can assume that the grandiose campaign took place in the period 965-968 ... The results of the campaign were absolutely exceptional: the huge Khazar empire was defeated and disappeared forever from the political map of Europe. The paths to the East were cleared; Volga Bulgaria ceased to be a hostile barrier and, in addition, Sarkel and Tmutarakan, two most important cities in the southeast, became Russian centers. The balance of power in the semi-Byzantine, semi-Khazar Crimea also changed, where Kerch (Korchev) also became a Russian city.
On July 3, 964, the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav Igorevich defeated the Khazar Khaganate. In the school curriculum, this epoch-making event is mentioned very little and even practically does not pay attention, both to the prince himself and to his campaigns and wars. But the military genius of Prince Svyatoslav can be put on a par with such eminent generals of antiquity as Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great.
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Especially the value of this won victory should be remembered right now - after all, the oligarch Igor Kolomoisky is simply warming himself with the dream of recreating a new Khazaria and is making a lot of efforts for this.
A small historical film, which is dedicated to the victory of Russian weapons and the acquisition of the power and independence of the state, will tell everyone about how it was.
The Khazar Khaganate was crushed by Svyatoslav. The end of Khazaria meant the unification in a single state, Kievan Rus, most of the East Slavic tribes. During the campaign, the lands of the Bulgars, Burtases, Yases and Kasogs, dependent on the Khaganate, were also crushed. The power of the Khazars was crushed not only in the center of Khazaria, but also on its outskirts. The end of Khazaria meant the freedom of passage of Rus' to the Caspian Sea, Khorezm and Transcaucasia. Rus' opened a free road to the East. Trade relations between Rus' and the East were strengthened due to the elimination of intermediaries of Khazaria. The victory of Prince Svyatoslav also meant the ideological victory of Rus' in the right to choose a special path for its spiritual development.
As many researchers note, the crushing of Khazaria, whose leaders professed Judaism and supported it among the subject and surrounding peoples through the spread of enslavement, slavery, obedience and superiority of the Jews, beneficial to their worldview, meant the crushing of the shackles of the most severe spiritual oppression, which could destroy the foundations of a bright, original spiritual life of the Slavs and other peoples of Eastern Europe
Khazar Khaganate, Khazaria (650-969) - medieval state, created by the nomadic people - the Khazars. Separated from the Western Turkic Khaganate. Controlled the territory of the Ciscaucasia, the Lower and Middle Volga regions, modern northwestern Kazakhstan, the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, eastern part Crimea, as well as the steppes and forest-steppes of Eastern Europe up to the Dnieper. The center of the state was originally located in the coastal part of modern Dagestan, later moved to the lower reaches of the Volga. Part of the ruling elite converted to Judaism. IN political dependence from the Khazars for some time there was a part of the East Slavic tribal unions.
For the majority of Russian people, all knowledge about the Khazars is exhausted by the well-known Pushkin lines, according to which the "prophetic Oleg" is going to "take revenge on the unreasonable Khazars." In the history textbooks, only a few mean words are devoted to the defeat of the kaganate by Prince Svyatoslav. The victory of Rus' over the powerful southern neighbor is not mentioned in the officially approved list of days of military glory. Of course, several sayings of Svyatoslav have become textbooks ("I'm going to attack you!", etc.), but few people associate them with the defeat of the Khazars.
Let's ask ourselves why such epoch-making events of a thousand years ago are presented today as intermediate facts of the history of the Fatherland, not deserving close attention of contemporaries?
But first, let's trace the outline of the events that changed not only the then political map of Eurasia, but, without a doubt, the entire further course of world history.
What was the Khazar Khaganate, how did its rulers manage to achieve such an unprecedented position in the medieval world, and why did just one concentrated blow of the Russian troops put an end to the domination of such a powerful ethnic group?
The power of the Khazars was born in the middle of the 7th century on the ruins of the Turkic Khaganate. Territorially new public education occupied a huge space: the entire Northern Black Sea region, most of the Crimea, the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, the North Caucasus, the Lower Volga region and the Caspian Trans-Volga region. Ethnically, the population of the kaganate was a conglomerate of Turkic peoples. True, initially the Khazars were Caucasoids, but then, from about the end of the 6th century, they began to actively mix with the Turks (eastern geographers of this period divided the Khazars into two categories: swarthy, black-haired and "white, beautiful, perfect in appearance").
The first bek - Obadiah created extremely favorable conditions for subsequent Jewish immigration: he built many synagogues and training centers, gathered the "wise men of Israel", gave them silver and gold, for which they "explained to him 24 books of Holy Scripture, the Mishnah, the Talmud and collections of holiday prayers." 12 Khazar beks-Jews went from Obadiah. Obadiah was celebrated as the ruler who "revived the ancient Jewish law." Christianity began to be severely suppressed in the country.
The favorable geopolitical position of Khazaria, the presence of significant free capital, allowed the Khaganate to exert a powerful influence on the entire world politics. Both the French Carolingians and the Spanish Umayyads found themselves in financial bondage.
What can we say about the lands inhabited by the Slavs! "The Tale of Bygone Years" reports under the year 884 that the Khazars paid tribute to the glade, northerners, Vyatichi, Rodimichi. In vassal dependence were the Tivertsy and the Uchi, with whom Prince Oleg fought. It should be emphasized that with all its power, the kaganate was an ear of clay with feet of clay, because the Jewish elite did not perceive Khazaria as their homeland, did not care about the autochthonous majority in any way, they used all financial benefits solely to strengthen the position of the Jews in the entire Oikumene. The mercenary army was effective in raiding neighbors and robbing tributaries, but when repelling external aggression, it turned out to be practically useless ...
Around 940, Bek Pesach attacked Rus', "went against Helga" (Oleg), approached Kiev and devastated the country, and then forced Oleg against his will to fight the Byzantines, thus pitting both of his opponents. The forced alliance of the Rus with the Khazars cost the first very dearly - in the war with Byzantium, our ancestors lost the entire fleet and 50 thousand soldiers. The imposition of tribute on the Slavic lands was also painful.
The military activity of Svyatoslav, with its unprecedented scope, was subordinated to two main directions: Byzantine and Khazar. Describing the content of the latter direction, Academician Rybakov writes: "The struggle for the freedom and security of trade routes from Rus' to the East was becoming a pan-European affair."
The campaign against the kaganate was thought out impeccably. The length of the trip is about 6000 km. It took about three years to complete it. The prince did not dare to conduct an offensive through the Don steppes, controlled by the Khazar cavalry. The Rus cut down and adjusted the boats, and in the spring of 965 they went down the Oka and Volga to the Itil fortress, to the rear of the Khazar regular troops, who were waiting for the enemy between the Don and the Dnieper. Choosing favorable moments, the combatants went ashore, where they replenished their food supplies.
According to the chronicler of the 10th century, Svyatoslav inspired his soldiers with the following speeches: “...Let us be imbued with the courage that our ancestors bequeathed to us, remember that the power of the Russians has so far been invincible, and we will bravely fight for our lives! We must win and stay alive, or die with glory, having accomplished feats worthy of valiant men!
The resistance to the Rus was not led by Bek Joseph, who shamefully fled with his fellow tribesmen, but by an unnamed kagan. It was not difficult to achieve victory over the completely demoralized Turko-Khazars. "And the battles were over, Svyatoslav overcame the Khazar and took them a city," the chronicler laconically declares. After Itil, Semender and Sarkel fell. luxurious gardens and the vineyards were plundered and set on fire, the inhabitants of the cities fled. The death of the Jewish community of Itil gave freedom to the Khazars and all the surrounding peoples. All parties that relied on the support of aggressive Judaism lost their support. In France, the Carolingian dynasty lost its position, yielding hegemony to national princes and feudal lords, the caliph in Baghdad weakened and lost control of his possessions, and the Khazar Jews themselves scattered around the outskirts of their former state.
Now it becomes clear why the feat of Svyatoslav is not promoted as widely as he deserves. Parallels with today's day suggest themselves. It remains to ask the last, already purely rhetorical question: will a new Svyatoslav appear, who will “drive the new Khazars back into their wild steppes”?
“Keep the memory of all military people who laid down their lives for their friends, for the land of their Fathers, for the Holy Faith of their Ancestors, for the prosperity and future of their Clans ...”
"Slavic-Aryan Vedas",
The word of wisdom of the sorcerer Velimudra
Remembering the great victories of our ancestors is the sacred duty of each of us, because knowledge of those great victories of the past carries the keys to understanding how to build our future. As we remember the victory of our grandfathers in the Great Patriotic War over Hitler's Nazism in 1945, so we must honor and remember the invaluable contribution to the development of Rus' of the victory of Prince Svyatoslav the Brave in 964 over Khazaria.
Say a word about Svyatoslav
Few people outside our Motherland know the name of the warrior, ruler and man - the Grand Duke Kievsky Svyatoslav Igorevich, nicknamed the Brave. But even less is known that the correct name of his St. e toslav, not St. I toslav, since his name comes from the word " Light", but not " holy". So, having replaced only one letter, the enemies of Rus' killed the correct understanding of his name, which is formed from two such beautiful words as Light and Praise. In the end, it turned out male name Svetoslav, meaning the one who glorifies the light or the light of the glorifying. In addition, unlike Alexander the Great, whom our ancestors called dark warrior, the prince-warrior Svetoslav, the people called the Light Prince and the Light Warrior.
Prince Svetoslav Igorevich was brought up from childhood as a warrior. The teacher, mentor of Svyatoslav was a Varangian asmud(the Varangians were the highest caste of professional warriors, formed from different peoples Slavic-Aryan), who taught the young pupil to be the first in battle and hunting, to hold fast in the saddle, to control the boat, to swim, to hide from enemy eyes both in the forest and in the steppe. Svetoslav was taught military art by another Varangian - the main Kiev governor Sveneld.
As a three-year-old child in the summer of 6453 from the SMZH (Creation of the World in the Star Temple - a new chronology of our ancestors, which originates from the moment the peace treaty was concluded after the victory in the war over Ancient China) (945 AD), he took part in his first battle. It was at that time when Princess Olga, together with her retinue, went to war with the Drevlyans in order to avenge her murdered husband, Prince Igor. Prince Igor decided to collect the tribute in the second round, for which he was killed by the Drevlyans. In front of the Kyiv squad, Svyatoslav was sitting on a horse. And when both troops converged - Kiev and Drevlyane, then little Svetoslav threw a spear in the direction of the Drevlyans. Then Svetoslav was just a boy, so the spear did not fly far - it flew between the horse's ears and hit the horse in the leg. But the Kyiv governors said: "The prince has already begun, let's follow, squad, for the prince." Such was the ancient custom of the Rus - only the prince could start the battle. And no matter what age the prince was.
By the way, the word PRINCE according to the decoding of Grinevich G.S. in the ancient proto-language of our ancestors - KЪNAZ, means "to the perfection (refinement) of the earth, or, simply, the secrecy (refinement) of the earth"!
While Svetoslav was growing up and gaining experience and courage, his mother, Princess Olga, ruled the principality. But Svetoslav Igorevich was not like his mother. If Olga was baptized into the Greek religion, which later became Christian, then Svetoslav remained the bearer of the Vedic knowledge and traditions of his ancestors.
Through the centuries, the description of his portrait by the Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon has been preserved: “Medium height, with a broad chest, blue eyes, thick eyebrows, beardless, but with a long mustache, only one strand of hair on his shaved head, which testified to his noble origin. In one ear he wore an earring with two pearls ... "
Most of all, Svetoslav valued combat armor and weapons. The ancient chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" tells of Prince Svetoslav as a true warrior. He spent the night not in a tent, but on a horse blanket, with a saddle in his head. On campaigns, he did not carry carts or boilers with him, did not boil meat, but thinly sliced horse meat or beef, or the meat of wild animals, roasted it on coals and ate it like that. His warriors were just as hardy and unpretentious. But the squad of Svetoslav, not burdened with convoys, moved very quickly and appeared in front of the enemy unexpectedly, instilling fear in them.
Svetoslav himself was not afraid of his opponents. When he went on a campaign, he always sent a warning message to foreign lands: "I'm coming for you!" Which meant - I want to go to you, that is, you are my enemies. The funny thing is that our ancestors called enemies on “you”, and now this word is a respectful appeal to to a stranger or older.
Do not attack without warning, do not shoot at an unarmed or unequal enemy in strength - this is code of military honor, ancient tradition Slavic-Aryans, which was honored and observed by the great Light Warrior Prince Svetoslav.
In addition to military honor and courage, an outstanding feature of the character of Svetoslav, as a Light Warrior, was his irreconcilable fight against usury brought to Rus' by the Khazars. For taking money at interest and giving it to others at interest, cut off both hands. He considered usury a corruption of the soul and monetary slavery, giving rise to all vices. And the Khazars, who hunted in Rus' by lending, were chained to a raft and floated along the Dnieper to the Black Sea.
Khazar Khaganate
The Khazar state - the Khazar Kaganate - is the most powerful and richest state in the southeast of the borders of Kievan Rus. It was located in the lower reaches of the Volga, stretching west and east as far as Mordovia, including such territories as Northern Afghanistan, Crimea (Tmutarakan is one of its cities). The Khazar city of Semender was located in the North Caucasus, Sarkel - in the interfluve of the Volga and Don, their lower reaches. The capital Itil was located just at the mouth of the Volga, approximately on the site of modern Astrakhan.
Before the enslavement by the Persian Jews (i-UD-ey - means excising UD, i.e. circumcised, and UD is the male genital organ, from where the words Pleasure came from - receiving sexual pleasure, UDochka, UDilshe) in the middle of the 6th century AD. Khazars, white and black Khazars lived quite amicably in it. The ruling caste of professional warriors from the Slavic-Aryans was then called the White Khazars, while the Turkic tribes who came to the lower reaches of the RA River (Volga - Itil) from the depths of Asia, as refugees from Ancient China, were called Black Khazars. In essence, the black Khazars were representatives of the yellow race with admixtures of the black race. They had black hair, black eyes and swarthy (yellow) skin, for which they were nicknamed black Khazars.
Khazaria existed as a multinational state in which people of both the white and yellow races lived peacefully side by side with each other. Khazaria lived in the same peace and harmony with its neighbors. The favorable location of Khazaria (the famous “Great Silk Road” passed through the Khazar Kaganate) attracted Persian Jews from the tribe of Simonov to the country, who began to move here after the revolution they had made in Persia, when the Jews completely robbed the Persian people, and with all their wealth fled the country . You can read more about how the Persian Empire, which was founded by the ancestors of the Slavic-Aryans, was destroyed in the 1st volume of Nikolai Levashov's book "Russia in Crooked Mirrors".
The choice of Khazaria as a place for a new resettlement of the Jews is far from accidental. Having ruined the Persians, except to the north, they simply had nowhere to run. And, besides, in the north-east of the Persian Empire plundered by them, Khazaria was located, which occupied a very advantageous location - trade routes from Asia to Europe passed through it. And whoever controlled Khazaria controlled the entire “Great Silk Road” and all the wealth passing through it!
Using the so-called institution of Jewish wives (Jewish women specially trained in sexual magic), giving them in marriage to representatives of the highest Khazar nobility, Jews took over all key government posts. How? Very simple. Children born of a Jewish woman are exclusively Jewish. It is through the maternal line that the national trait is transmitted among the Jews. So, a generation later, all the key positions in the Khazar state were occupied by children born of Jewish wives and male representatives of the ruling hierarchy of the Khazar Kaganate. Occupying high positions among the elite, the Khazar Jews began to contribute in every possible way to the development of the trading business for their fellow tribesmen. Having received the country's economy in their hands, they also began to seize political influence.
Maternal Jews were still few among the military elite, but even among them the time had come for an uprising. Obadiah, relying on the Khazar nobility of Jewish origin, with the help of mercenaries - Pechenegs and Guzes - unleashed a civil war, as a result of which the Khazar Turks were defeated and forced to leave their homeland and settle on the territory of modern Hungary. After the victory over the Khazar Turks in the civil war, the Khazar Jews imposed the heaviest tribute on the local population. Those Khazars who did not leave their homeland, the Jews turned into the real slaves.
Once again, the Jews diligently “thanked” the people who provided the “refugees” with asylum on their territory. There are many parallels in the recent past - Palestine, Persia, and modern Ukraine and Russia are in the same position as the people of Khazaria a thousand years ago.
The complete control of the caravan routes passing through the Khazar Kaganate allowed the Jews to create a trading monopoly when they began to control the purchase prices and selling prices of imported and local goods. As a result, minimum purchase prices were set for locally produced goods, which led to the robbery of local producers, and maximum prices were set for goods sold by Jews, which gave Jews super profits due to outright robbery of producers and buyers.
When Civil War in China led to a sharp decline in trade, the Khazar Jews moved north and defeated and subjugated the Kama (Volga) Bulgaria, and also occupied the boundless lands of Great Perm, where they organized their trading settlements - trading posts. The conquered lands gave the precious fur of sables, martens, ermines, and besides, Khazar Jews organized child trafficking(just like now in Russia). And again, caravans with furs and slaves stretched from the North to the South, and the money went into the bins of the Khazar Jews.
The defeat of Khazaria
Kievan Rus turned out to be the most powerful and consistent enemy of the Jewish Khazar Kaganate. The mortal blow to the Khazar Kaganate, which put an end to its independent existence, was inflicted by the Kyiv prince Svetoslav, the son of Igor.
In Summer 6472 from the SMZH (964 AD), being 22 years old, preparing a campaign against Khazaria, Svetoslav did not go straight across the steppe through the Volga-Don interfluve, undertaking a skillful maneuver. In total, with a 20,000-strong army, he bypassed it, reached Ryazan, descended along the Oka to the Volga and then moved on 500 boats with a small number of troops and immediately laid siege to the capital Itil. The Khazars did not expect a blow from the north, and could not organize a serious defense. Svetoslav took it by storm, and, as the chronicles say, he left no stone unturned in it. Further, the Light Warrior undertook a campaign in the North Caucasus region, where he defeated the stronghold of the Khazars - a fortress Semender. After that, the squad of Svetoslav moved to the Don, where they stormed and destroyed the eastern fortress of the Khazars - Sarkel.
Thus, Svetoslav, having made an unprecedented campaign thousands of kilometers long, captured the main strongholds of the Khazars on the Don, on the Volga and in the North Caucasus. At the same time, he created a base for the influence of the Slavic-Aryans in the North Caucasus - the Tmutarakan principality. These campaigns crushed the power of the Khazar Kaganate, which ceased to exist at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries.
As a result of the campaigns of the Grand Duke Svetoslav, the Old Russian state achieved the security of its southeastern borders and became at that time the main force in the Volga-Caspian region. The Khazar Kaganate collapsed and gave Rus' the opportunity to develop as a state. At the same time, the Slavic and many other tribes living around were saved. As a result, their development was determined for many centuries to come. Having put an end to the Khazar bondage, Rus' cleared the military barrier from its path, blocking trade routes to the East, which made it possible to revive trade between Europe and Asia.
After the destruction of the Khazar Kaganate, the Jews left the borders of Rus' and settled in their trading posts in various states and began to exert a powerful influence on the economy of the countries that sheltered them, undermining their economies from the inside and influencing the policies of these states.
Death of the Great Warrior
Defending the interests of the Russian state of Kievan Rus, Grand Duke Svyatoslav did not lose a single battle. All the more strange is the death of the Great Light Warrior. This was in the spring of 6480 AD (AD 972). After the conclusion of peace in a long war with the Roman Empire (Byzantium), when Svetoslav turned the inevitable defeat into another victory, then the prince’s small squad dealt a tangible blow to the emperor’s army, and the continuation of the war could leave the emperor without an army at all, and Svetoslav’s encircled squad with weapons and his left enemy lands as booty.
On the way home, being in the region of the Dnieper rapids on the islands of Khortytsya, most of his squad, the vast majority of which were baptized into the Greek religion, suddenly left him. And at night, during sleep, the Pechenegs attacked the sleeping soldiers who remained loyal to the prince. Pechenegs were called Slavic tribes who led a nomadic lifestyle. They had their own settlements, where they returned for wintering, during which they lay on their stoves and indulged in bliss or basked. From this came their nickname - PECHENEGI! And in this last battle Almost all the soldiers loyal to Prince Svetoslav and the prince himself perished. According to the chronicle, the Pecheneg prince Kurya made a cup for himself from the severed head of Svetoslav, setting it in silver and gold.
In one of the later chronicles, a curious detail is given - the Pecheneg princes used this bowl in the rite of conceiving children. Before lying down on the couch, the prince and princess took turns drinking from this cup, saying, like a spell: "Let our children be like Him."
The death of Prince Svetoslav was beneficial both to Romea (Byzantium), because the living prince was dangerous for them, since he could destroy their empire in the next campaign, and to the forces that stood behind the young Vladimir, the future baptizer of Kievan Rus into the Greek religion, which led to the death of 9 million of the 12 million who then inhabited this Russia for the sake of the “peaceful God”, leaving only young children, in whose heads the concepts of the Lord God and slavish submission to him were already invested.
Also, the death of the Light Warrior was also an act of revenge for the completely destroyed Jewish Khazaria, on the part of the ruling Jewish elite.
The value of the defeat of Khazaria for Rus'
On July 3, 6472 from the SMZH (964 AD), the state of Khazaria ceased its vile existence, which brought innumerable troubles to the Slavic-Aryans, and threatened white man- White RACE (Clan of Ases of the Country of Ases, and As is a god living on Earth) - complete and final extermination.
Trade relations between Rus' and the East were strengthened due to the elimination of intermediaries in the form of the Jewish Khazaria.
Not far off is the day when our Great ancestor - the Light Warrior Kiev prince Svetoslav, nicknamed the Brave, will be announced national hero, both in Russia and in Ukraine! And the children will take an example not from Batmans, Supermen and other evil spirits, but from such courageous, brave and strong, and most importantly, real heroes of our Great Motherland!
“Explore, children of the Great Race, this Wisdom: No one can protect your Clans from foreign Clans and cruel enemies, if themselves don't want to defend yourself. No one will create prosperity in your birth if themselves do not want to create for Rod. No one will raise your children with dignity until themselves You will not raise up your offspring." (Word of Wisdom Magus Velimudra)
Let this commandment of our ancestors become a reminder to all of us that only we ourselves we can and must take care of ourselves and the future of our land, which is sprinkled with the blood of our ancestors. And no other peoples will ever show, as they have not shown for all our past, due attention or concern for the fate of our fraternal peoples (Ukraine, Belarus and Russia), if we themselves you can't defend yourself!
Glory to our ancestors, who laid down bright heads on the battlefields for our Russian land!
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The Khazar Khaganate posed a serious military threat to Rus'. Archaeologists have discovered a whole system of stone fortresses on the right bank of the Don, Northern Donets and Oskol. One white-stone stronghold was located at a distance of 10-20 kilometers from the other. Outposts were located on the right, western and northwestern banks of the rivers. Big role Byzantine engineers played a role in the construction of these fortresses. So, Sarkel (Belaya Vezha) on the banks of the Don was erected by Byzantine engineers, led by Petrona Kamatir. Yes, and the fortifications of Itil were made by the Roman Byzantines. The Khazar state played an important role in the military-political strategy of Constantinople, holding back Rus'. Sarkel was the main fortress of the Khazars on the northwestern border of the state. It housed a permanent garrison of several hundred soldiers. Fortresses solved not only defensive tasks, but also offensive, predatory ones. In fact, these were outposts pushed forward, since they were located on the right (western) bank, and not on the left (eastern), which would have strengthened their defensive significance. These bridgeheads were used as cover for organizing attacks and retreat of the Khazar troops. Of these, small Khazar detachments carried out predatory raids. Russian epics have preserved the memory of the Khazar attacks, so the epic "Fyodor Tyarynin" reports:
From the east side was
From the king was Jewish,
From his Jewish strength
An arrow flew.
From a part of the controlled Slavic-Russian tribes, the Khazars took people to give. The Radziwill chronicle reports that the Khazars took: “a white girl from the smoke” (from household, large family). And next to the miniature, so that there would be no mistake, they did not take it for a typo, a group of girls and an elder are depicted, bowing before the Khazar. Apparently, this disgusting phenomenon became the basis for the fairy tales and true stories of the “miracle Yude nasty”, “snake”, who demanded red maidens for himself. By the time of the reign of Prince Svyatoslav, this tribute was almost not paid by people, since Rus' was united and strengthened. However, the Khazars continued to take people in captivity for sale into slavery during their raids.
At the same time, the Khazar elite posed a threat to the very existence of Rus' - Russian civilization. The Jewish elite benefited from the so-called. "the process of onslaught on the East". In Western Europe, Christian knights and mercenaries, who were incited by Rome and the rahdonites, fought for several centuries with the Slavic-Russian tribes in the lands of modern Germany and Austria (from there there were Varangians-Rus, led by Rurik-Falcon, the western branch of the Rus superethnos). Slavic warriors died in battles, and the invaders “wholesale” sold women and children to Jewish rahdonite merchants, who drove “living goods” to the markets of the Middle East and beyond. This titanic and bloody battle lasted for several centuries. The Slavic-Russian civilization of Central Europe, in which there were hundreds of city-towns, developed crafts and arts, perished in fire and blood. Slavic-Russians were partly exterminated, partly gradually assimilated, lost their language, faith and culture, became "Germans". This page of history in Europe is preferred not to be remembered. After all, a significant part of European civilization is built on the blood and bones of the Slavs.
Numerous Slavic cities, such as Berlin, Dresden, Lipitz-Leipzig, Rostock, Branibor-Brandenburg, became German cities. And many "Germans", especially in the center and east of Germany, are genetic Slavs who have lost their language and culture, their self-consciousness. According to a similar technique, the Russians of Little Russia are turned into "Ukrainians".
The main prerequisite for the tragic death of the "Slavic Atlantis" in the center of Europe was the disunity of the Slavic tribal unions and their civil strife (especially the conflict between the Luticians and the Bodrite-Bodrites). During the time of Svyatoslav, the battle in Central Europe was still going on. So Arkona - the city and religious center of the Ruyan tribe on the island of Ruyan (Rügen) will be destroyed by the Danes in 1168. However, the Western Slavs were already doomed because of their disunity. Rome used the ancient "divide, pit and conquer" strategy against them.
The same fate threatened the eastern branch of the Rus superethnos, Eastern Rus'. Byzantium was threatening from the West, Rome was advancing, which would soon turn the western meadows (Poles, Poles) into enemies of Rus'. Khazaria threatened from the East, Islamic civilization advanced from the South. Well-armed detachments of Muslim mercenaries of Khazaria were a serious threat. Only political centralization could save Eastern Rus'. And the Falcon dynasty did an excellent job with this role. This is very symbolic, because the rarog falcon was a totem animal supreme god Slavs-Rus - Rod.
All the first princes of the Rurik dynasty (Sokolov) fought against Khazaria. The Russian prince Oleg the Prophetic was able to take Kyiv and withdraw from the influence of the Khazars the tribal union of the glades, who lived in the Middle Dnieper region (Kiev region). There is a version that he became a victim of the Khazars. During the reign of Igor, Russian squads made a number of campaigns in the Caspian Sea. However, only Svyatoslav was able to solve the problem of eliminating Khazaria.
Armies of opponents
Khazaria, although it had lost some of its power by the middle of the 10th century, was a tough nut to crack. The vassals of the Khazars were the Burtases and Volga Bulgaria on the Middle Volga. The mouth of the Volga was controlled by the capital of the Khazars - the city of Itil, well fortified under the leadership of Byzantine engineers. This major commercial and political center was well defended. In the North Caucasus, the main stronghold of the Khazars was the city of Semender, the old capital. The Sarkel fortress covered the western borders and controlled the Don. Tumantarkhan (Samkerts or Tamatarkha) controlled the Taman Peninsula. The whole towns were well defended, especially Sarkel.
In Khazaria there was a kind of dual power: the kagan (khan) had a sacred status, and the king owned the executive power. The clan and tribal nobility exhibited well-armed cavalry. In later times, its number fell to 10 thousand horsemen. They were reinforced by well-armed Muslim mercenaries, the king's guard. The riders were armed with spears and swords and had good armor. With a serious threat, each city could put up a foot militia from the "black Khazars" - the common people.
The Khazars adopted the tactics of the Arabs and in the battle attacked in waves-lines. In the first line there were skirmishers, horse archers, usually from the "black Khazars" - commoners. They did not have heavy weapons and tried with throwing projectiles - arrows and darts, to disperse and weaken the enemy, enrage and force him to a premature and poorly organized attack. The second line consisted of well-armed cavalry - squads of tribal and tribal nobility. The "White Khazars" were well armed - iron breastplates, leather armor and chain mail, helmets, shields, long spears, swords, sabers, clubs, axes. Heavy cavalry was supposed to crush the already disordered ranks of the enemy. If the enemy was strong and the second line was not successful, it would withdraw to regroup. The third line entered the battle - a numerous foot militia. The basis of infantry weapons were spears and shields. It was difficult to overcome the wall of spearmen without serious losses, and at that time the cavalry was rebuilding and preparing for a new blow behind the backs of the infantry. In extreme cases, the fourth line could enter the battle - the elite guard of Muslim mercenaries. The line was made up of mounted, iron-clad professional warriors. This line was personally led into battle by the tsar. True, the entry into battle of three or four lines was a rarity. Usually the Khazars themselves went on campaigns and raids, in which only mounted light archers and squads of the nobility participated.
Horseman of the Khazar Khaganate. End of IX - beginning of X century. Based on the materials of S.A. Pletneva, Dmitrievsky archaeological complex, catacomb No. 52. Reconstruction drawings by Oleg Fedorov
Alanian archer of the Khazar Khaganate, IX - early X century. Based on the materials of S.A. Pletneva, Dmitrievsky archaeological complex, catacomb No. 55
Svyatoslav was a real warrior. The Russian chronicle vividly describes him: light in movements, like a leopard, brave, he directed all his energy to creating a powerful squad: Walking a cart on its own is not a load, not a boiler; neither cooking meat, but cutting a horse-meat, beast, or beef, baked a poison on the coals, not a tent of a name, but laying a lining and a saddle in their heads, so did his other howls byakha ”(Complete collection of Russian chronicles. T. 1 ).
The army of Svyatoslav was extremely mobile. In fact, in the future, the army of Alexander Suvorov will show such mobility and tactics. Russian squads moved on boats and horses. The squad of Svyatoslav, as can be seen from the sources, could fight on horseback and on foot, depending on the situation. From the message of the Russian chronicler that Prince Svyatoslav and his soldiers ate horsemeat and had saddles, we can conclude that the squad was mounted, not on foot. This is indirectly confirmed by the Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon, who contradicts himself when he says that the Rus did not know how to fight on horseback, and at the same time reports on their horse attacks. But the squad also used boats to move along the rivers, where it was convenient (Volga, Don, Dnieper and Danube), and could fight on foot, lining up for battle in several lines. And the experience of warfare by the previous Russian princes - Rurik, Oleg the Prophetic and Igor the Old, shows that Rus' had a powerful fleet that could operate on rivers and at sea. At the same time, part of the army accompanied the ship's army overland on horseback.
During this period, the Russian army consisted of several parts: 1) from the senior and junior squads of the prince; 2) squads of boyars and henchmen of princes; 3) "voev" - urban and rural militia; 4) allies and mercenaries (Varangians, Pechenegs, Polovtsy, etc.). The squads usually made up heavily armed cavalry. Under Svyatoslav, it was reinforced by the light cavalry of the Pechenegs, they were armed with bows, had spears for throwing (darts-sulits) and strikes and a three-sided double-edged sword, protected by chain mail and helmets. "Voi"-militias were the infantry of the Russian army. For long trips, boats (lods) were built, which raised up to 40-60 people each. They could operate not only on rivers, but also at sea, they were not only transports, but also engaged in battle with enemy ships.
A noble warrior of the Rus squad. End of X - beginning of XI century. According to the materials of the burials of the Shestovitsy burial ground, Chernihiv region. Reconstruction drawings by Oleg Fedorov
Old Russian warrior. Second half of the 10th century. Based on the materials of T.A. Pushkina, Smolensk region, Gnezdovsky archaeological complex
Kyiv combatant of the 10th century. According to the materials of the excavations by M.K. Karger of the Tithes Church in Kyiv, burial No. 108
Old Russian warrior in an open caftan made of fabric with a heel. Second half of the 10th century. Based on the materials of T.A. Pushkina, Smolensk region, Gnezdovsky archaeological complex, burial Dn-4
Russian prince with a retinue. First half of the 11th century. Based on materials from archaeological finds in Kyiv, Chernigov and the Voronezh region.
The senior squad consisted of "princely husbands", or boyars. In peacetime, she was a council under the prince, participated in government. The younger squad (“youths”, “children”) was the personal guard of the prince. The squad was the core of the army. The city put up a "thousand", divided into hundreds and tens (along the "ends" and streets). The "thousand" was commanded by a thousand who was elected by the veche or appointed by the prince. "Hundreds" and "tens" were commanded by elected sots and tenths. "Howls" made up the infantry, divided into archers and spearmen. In battle, the infantry stood up a "wall" like the ancient Greek phalanx. Archers fired at the enemy, dispersing his formation. Spearmen covered themselves with shields the height of a man and put up spears. In close combat, swords, axes, maces and "boot" knives were used. Protective equipment consisted of mail armor, a pointed helmet with chain mail mesh over the face and shoulders, and large, often full-length, wooden shields. The quality of weapons and armor depended on the wealth of the warrior. The main armament was usually stored in the prince's warehouses and issued before going on a campaign. Since ancient times, the Rus had triangular and red banners, as well as military music. The rhythm of the music helped to enter a state of combat trance, a special state of mind. The troops lined up and fought around their banners. "Putting a banner" meant to form or prepare for battle.
Russian troops were distinguished by high discipline. The army gathered at the assembly point and marched in an organized manner. In the campaign, there was a watchman in front, who reconnoitered the ways and forces of the enemy, mined "tongues" and guarded the main forces from a surprise attack. The main forces moved behind the guards. During the stops, they put up "guards" - guards, the place itself was surrounded by wagons or a palisade, sometimes dug in.
The battle order of the Russian rati was traditional: the middle (infantry) and two wings (left and right). The archers who were ahead in loose formation began the battle. Russian composite bows were terrible weapons. The main (central) regiment took the blow of the enemy, stopped him, the cavalry squads on the flanks tried to cover the enemy or prevented the more numerous enemy from encircling the Russian army. Spanning and bypassing the flanks, ambushes and luring the enemy with a deliberate retreat were used very often, it was the oldest traditional tactic for the Scythians and their heirs - the Rus.
Russian rati successfully stormed the cities. They tried to take them with a sudden attack - “on a spear”, or by cunning. If it did not work, then the siege began. The city was surrounded on all sides, deprived of its supply of food, looking for water conduits to force the garrison to capitulate. If the garrison persisted, they carried out a proper siege - the troops were located in a fortified camp, the city was surrounded by an earthen rampart, cutting it off from the outside world and narrowing the possibilities for sorties. under cover of big board shields they approached the walls, cut down the paling (tyn), in some places they filled up the moat, if the walls and towers were wooden, they tried to set them on fire. A large embankment was made near the wall, earthen powder, which could be climbed, and assault ladders were prepared. Underground passages were dug to destroy the wall and penetrate the city. Siege towers, battering rams (rams) and vices (stone throwers) were also used.
Russian combat boat (rook)
Stone-throwing machine (Russian vices). Drawing from an Arabic manuscript
The defeat of Khazaria
The campaign began in 964. Winter 964-965 Svyatoslav Igorevich spent time in the lands of the Vyatichi, urging their princes and elders to submit to a single authority. Vyatichi warriors, skilled forest hunters and scouts replenished his army. In the spring of 965, the regiments of Svyatoslav will move to Khazaria. The Russian prince deceived the enemy. Usually the Russians walked along the water from the Don and along the Sea of Azov. And Svyatoslav decided to strike at the heart of the kaganate not from the west, but from the north, along the Volga.
The Russian army moved along the Volga route. Along the way, Svyatoslav pacified the longtime tributaries and allies of the Khazars - the Bulgars and Burtases. With a swift blow, Svyatoslav defeated the allies of Khazaria, depriving Itil of additional military contingents. The city of Bulgar, the capital of the Volga Bulgaria, was devastated. The enemy did not expect an attack from the north, so there was little resistance. The Burtases and Bulgars preferred to flee and scattered in the forests, trying to survive the storm.
The ship's army of Svyatoslav went down the Volga and entered the possession of the Khazars. "Howls" moved on boats, along the coast they were accompanied by Russian cavalry squads and allied Pechenegs. The Khazars, having learned about the unexpected attack of Svyatoslav's regiments, prepared themselves for battle. Somewhere in the lower reaches of the Volga, near the capital of the kaganate - Itil, a decisive battle took place. The Khazar king Joseph managed to gather a large army, including the capital's militia. The arsenals of the capital were enough to arm everyone. However, the Khazar army could not withstand the onslaught of Svyatoslav's regiments. Russian soldiers stubbornly rushed forward, repelling all the attacks of the Khazars. The Khazar army trembled and ran. Tsar Joseph with the remaining guards was able to break through, but lost most of the guards. There was no one to defend the Khazar capital. The population took refuge on the islands in the Volga delta. The city was destroyed. Archaeologically generally accepted Itil has not yet been identified. There is a version that it was washed away due to the rise in the level of the Caspian Sea.
Sketch for the painting "The Capture of the Khazar Fortress Itil by Prince Svyatoslav". V. Kireev
After this victory, Svyatoslav Igorevich continued the campaign, since the Khazars had several more major cities. Svyatoslav led his squads along the coast of the Caspian Sea to the south, to the old capital of the Khazar Khaganate - Semender. It was Big City on the territory of the Caspian Dagestan. Semender was ruled by its own king, who had his own army. It was Autonomous region. The campaign to Semender was fleeting. The Semender army was defeated and scattered over the surrounding mountains, Semender was occupied without a fight. Svyatoslav did not go further south, expressing indifference to Derbent and the Southern Caspian region with its rich cities. He didn't want prey. The Russian army carried out a sacred mission, destroyed the Khazar "serpent".
Svyatoslav passed through North Caucasus, the land of the Yases (Alans, ancestors of the Ossetians), Kasogs (Circassians), defeated their rati, as allies of the Khazars, subjugated them to his will. Svyatoslav led troops to the shores of the Surozh (Azov) Sea. Two large centers of the Khazar state were located here - Tamatarkha (Tmutarakan) and Kerchev. There were no serious battles. The Khazar governor and garrisons fled. And the locals rebelled, helping to take the city. Svyatoslav showed himself not only as a skillful and fearless warrior but also a wise ruler. He did not destroy these cities, but turned them into strongholds and shopping centers Rus'.
In fact, practically nothing remained of the kaganate. Its fragments were smashed by Svyatoslav's allies - the Pechenegs, who occupied part of Khazaria. Only one powerful fortress remained from the state - Belaya Vezha ("vezha" - tower).
It was one of the most powerful fortresses of the Khaganate. Sarkel had six powerful towers, visible from afar. The fortress stood on a cape, which was washed by the waters of the Don on three sides. On the fourth side, a deep ditch filled with water was dug. At the distance of an arrow flight from the walls, on the land side, a second ditch was dug. The walls were thick (3.75 m) and high (up to 10 m), reinforced with tower ledges and massive corner towers. The main gate was located in the northwestern wall, the second gate (smaller) was located on the northeastern wall and went to the river. Inside the fortress was divided into two parts by a transverse wall. The smaller southwestern part could only be reached from the inside; in its southern corner there was a fortified square donjon tower (vezha). Thus, the fortress had several lines of defense and was considered impregnable. In the fortress there was not only a garrison, but also Tsar Joseph took refuge with the remnants of the troops. He hoped to ride out the storm and restore at least part of what had been destroyed.
Leaving a garrison in Tmutarakan. Svyatoslav moved on. The Rus besieged the Sarkel fortress from the land and the river. Russian soldiers filled up the ditches, prepared stairs and a battering ram for the assault. During a fierce attack, the fortress was taken. The last bloody battle took place in the citadel. The Khazar king with the guards were killed.
The last Khazar stronghold fell. Svyatoslav did not destroy her. The settlement came under the rule of Rus' and became known in Russian as Belaya Vezha. The fortress housed a permanent garrison of Russians and Pechenegs.
Results
The soldiers of Svyatoslav made a unique campaign with a length of about 6 thousand kilometers. The squads of Svyatoslav subjugated the Vyatichi, tributaries of the Khazars, marched through the Volga Bulgaria, the lands of the Burtases and Khazaria, took the capital Itil and the ancient capital of the kaganate - Semender in the Caspian. Then they conquered the North Caucasian tribes of the Yases (ancestors of the Ossetians) and Kasogs (Adyghe tribes), subjugated Tmutarakan on the Taman Peninsula and defeated the strategic Khazar fortress Sarkel on the Don on the way back. It took about 3 years to complete the titanic task of defeating the old and powerful enemy of Rus', with wintering somewhere on the Volga and the North Caucasus. The campaign took place in the period 964-966 (according to Arabic sources, 968-969).
In the process of creating a new empire - Great Rus', was made important step. Svyatoslav secured the eastern strategic flank, made an alliance with the Pechenegs, put under control the most important river communications and part of the Crimea, through which the world trade routes passed.
"Prince Svyatoslav". Artist Vladimir Kireev
