Ukraine: From Trypillia to Rus

Михайло Відейко

УКРАЇНА: ВІД ТРИПІЛЛЯ ДО РУСІ

K Ł ¿ ˚—†˛˝ 2 0 1 0

Mykhailo Videiko

Ky i v KRION 2 0 1 0

UDK 94(477)”.../05” BBK 63.3(4Ukr)2 V42

Project leaders: A. V. Tolstoukhov — doctor of philosophy, corresponding member of Academy of Education of Ukraine, the President of Strategic Policy Institute; V. A. Zubanov — the President of the Charity Fund “East—West together” Author M. Yu. Videiko — candidate of historical sciences, senior research fellow

Різні імена в давні часи носила ця земля, її ліси, ріки й рівнини: Кіммерія, Скіфія, Сарматія, Замор’я, Леведія, Дорі, Архейм, Русь, Борисфен, Данпрастадир, Істр, Тірас, Гіппаніс... Усі ці, часом незрозумілі, а то і взагалі невідомі нині назви було дано у давні часи представниками народів, що жили у нашому Краї. Що стояло за цими назвами, як жили люди, котрі придумали та промовляли ці слова? Десятки тисяч років давньої історії землі, що її сьогодні називають Україною, були відкриті завдяки польовим археологічним дослідженням впродовж останніх ста п’ятдесяти років. Щороку чимало експедицій шукають і знаходять у цій землі сліди минулих епох і подій. Із таких знахідок і складається мозаїка давньої історії. У книзі представлено її окремі сторінки, епізоди, які охоплюють період від трипільської археологічної культури (5400—2650 рр. до н.е.) до появи Русі із столицею у Києві (ІХ століття). Історичні події, викладені в книзі, співвіднесено до території України у її сучасних межах. Розраховано на широке коло читачів.

V42

Videiko M. Yu. Ukraine: from Trypillia to Rus./ Mykhailo Videiko. — K.: Krion, — 2010. — 528 p.: pic. ISBN 978-966-1658-48-5 In ancient times this land, its forests, rivers and plains had different names: Cimmeria, Scythia, Sarmatia, Zamorya, Levedia, Dori, Arkheim, Rus, Borisfen, Danprastadir, Ister, Tiras, Hypanis... All these sometimes unintelligible and by now even unknown names were given in ancient times by representatives of peoples who lived on the territory of today’s Ukraine. What did these names mean, how did people who invented and uttered those words live? Dozens of thousands of years of the ancient history of the land which is now called Ukraine have been discovered thanks to field archeological investigations for the last one hundred and fifty years. Every year numerous expeditions seek and find traces of the past epochs and events in this land. The mosaic of the ancient history is based on these findings. This book represents its separate pages, episodes which cover the period from the Trypillian archeological culture (5400—2650 B.C.) till the appearance of Rus with its capital in Kyiv (the 9th century). Historical events described in this book are correlated with the territory of Ukraine with its present-day borders. The book is intended for a wide range of readers. UDK 94(477)”.../05” BBK 63.3(4Ukr)2

ISBN 978-966-1658-48-5

© Zubanov V. A., Tolstoukhov A. V., 2010 © Videiko M. Yu., 2010

From the authors of the project This book has been written by a well-known scientist and archeologist Videiko Mykhailo Yuriyovych. For a few decades he has been working at Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Archaeological expeditions, excavations, finds, researches of archaeological sites — all of these are everyday work of this scientist. The science of archeology is the only historical science which gives you an opportunity to look into deep antiquity. Possessing rich experience and unique knowledge Mykhailo Videiko gives history lovers an opportunity to descend with him into the unexplored world of the ancient history. The book “Ukraine: from Trypillia to Rus” opens a new stage of the nationwide project “Ukraine: the history of the great people” the main purpose of which is the popularization of the history and culture of peoples who lived and live now on the territory of our multinational state. The notable fact about this stage is that it will acquaint readers with our centuries-long history, its most vivid and interesting aspects which are written in a simple and clear language. In the course of the realization of this project we will get acquainted with one of the most ancient European civilizations. We shall turn our eyes on events and peoples that changed the word and made it as we see it today. We shall touch on the history of Ukrainian forests and forest steppes which became the cradle of the Slavic ethnos. We shall go through the periods of prosperity of our land and also through its hard times with Kyiv and Galicia knyazes, Cossack hetmans, the heroes of the formation of cathedral we know Ukraine. As popular science books of this series are a natural addition to scientific books which have already been published: “Ukraine: the chronology of development” and “Ukraine Europe: the chronology of development” which have already received recognition for their novelty approach, interesting contents, objectivity. The authors of the project “Ukraine: the history of the great people” express sincere gratitude to the author of the book “Ukraine: from Trypillia to Rus” Mykhailo Videiko and also to everybody who worked on it with him.

A. V. TOLSTOUKHOV

V. A. ZUBANOV

doctor of philosophy, corresponding member of Academy of Education of Ukraine, the President of Strategic Policy Institute

the President of the Charity Fund “East—West together”

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Contents Preface by John Chapman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Chapter 1 From Trypillia to the Antes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Pages of the ancient history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Section 1 When we were in Old Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Which Europe is Old?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The Trypillian world – part of Old Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Creation of the new world. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Economic system: progress or a dead end at the same time?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Copper of the Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Silicon Valley of Old Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The world made of clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Trade as “the engine of economy” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Section 2 The flourishing of the Trypillian civilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 From settlements to towns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Old European standards of life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Trypillian feasts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 We are peaceful people... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 The age of magic and the appearance of written language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Section 3 Peoples and languages of “The land of Trypilliada” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Dimensions of the history of the ancient peoples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 What do we know about Trypillians? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 A few words about the Trypillian language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 In search of the Trypillian genealogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Section 4 Not by Trypillia alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 To the east and to the south of Trypilliada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Peculiarities of the “steppe” economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 The owners of “high technologies”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Near the sources of the mound “architecture” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Agricultural oasis near estuaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 The Western relatives of Trypillians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Section 5 The twilight of Old Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Rehabilitation of “steppe tribes”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Civilization and global cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 “Anti-crisis programs” of Trypillians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Where did Trypillians disappear, where did they go? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Section 6 Ancient burial mounds and their creators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 How to build a burial mound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Life in the steppe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 The way of life of ancient nomads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Sacred places of the Steppe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Mummies of the local production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Section 7 The age of battle axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Cultures of battle axes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Life is war . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Eternal glory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 The echo of ancient sounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Section 8 On the leading edge of the technologies of the ancient times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 The first wheel in the steppes of Ukraine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Donets Basin treasures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 The signs of the beginning of the Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Section 9 To the North from Mycenae abundant in gold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 The political map of the late Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

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Section 10

Section 11

Section 12

Section 13

Section 14

Section 15

Section 16

Section 17

Section 18

Section 19

Section 20

Ancient cooperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Who traded in amber with Mycenae? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Copper of Bakhmut and Kartamysh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 “Linear timber-grave” writing?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 The end of the idyll of the Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Contemporaries of Majestic Ilion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Chariots attack! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 The bearers of the Sabatynivka culture and “The Sea People” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 From the wall of “Dykyi Sad” to the walls of Troy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 The times of “long swords” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 The “heroes” of the ancient chronicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Innovations of the Cimmerian Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 To the North of Cimmeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 The revival of Old Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Life behind ramparts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Eternal memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Violence as a way of life and the basis of economy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Cimmerians and Scythians in Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 The country Gamirra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 In “pursuit” of Cimmerians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 The return to the Babylonian rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 The end of the ally of three kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 The last “feat” of Scythians in Asia? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 From Cimmeria to Scythia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Kings and the people: everybody is on their own. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Cimmerians and Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Eternal enemies, eternal companions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 The descendants of Zeus and Borisfen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 The relatives of Gods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 “They came from the depth of Asia” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Scythians and their kingdoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 The great confrontation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 The glory of the invincible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 The first World War? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 He went to the Volga, but he came to Helonus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 The invincible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 The Country of forgotten towns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Babylon in the Forest-steppe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Can an ancient settlement be considered a town? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 The outskirts of a town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Who built the town? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 The production of weapons of the Scythian time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Armored horsemen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 The main weapon of Scythians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 The eternal fight of weapons and armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 The “friend akinake” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Barbarians and Hellenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 The military-depredatory economy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 The colony called Olvia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 On the shores of Taurica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 The battle for Scythia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Forgotten wars at the edge of Ecumene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Whose king was Ateas?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 The battle for Dobrudja. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 A short triumph of Philip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 The campaign of Zopyrion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Macedonia against Borysthenites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 The greatness of the plans of Alexander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Calculations and miscalculations of strategists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 What antique historians hushed up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Silent witnesses of the events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 The end of the events connected with Olvia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

5

Section 21 The “Scythian trace” in the victory of the Olbiopolitai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Battle scenes on Scythian gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Storm or Scythians? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Forgotten treasures and trophies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Doleful news which didn’t grieve the king. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Rewards for the victors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Section 22 Witnesses of the greatness of Scythia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 How to build a pyramid in the steppe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Treasures of burial mounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 25 centuries of robberies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 “Lucky men” and “mound diggers” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 The decay of Scythia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Section 23 The country of Sarmatia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 The successors of Scythians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 New “knights” of the steppes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 To the North of Sarmatia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 The battle for Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Section 24 Three Scythias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 Low Danube Scythia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 Dnieper Scythia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Crimean Scythia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Section 25 Roman eagles over the Northern Pontus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 Invaders or rescuers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 The trace of the presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 What can “LE XI CL” mean? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Free Europe against united Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 “The Battle on the Ice” of the Danube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Section 26 The path of the dragon or Sarmatians in Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Sending a Roman horseman on a mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Under the flag with the red dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 The Sarmatian trace in Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Two centuries in the battles for the Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 The warriors of Sarmatia and the knights of the Round Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 The weapon of the Hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 The birth of the legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Section 27 The country of the sword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 From Gotiskandza to Scythia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 On the lands of the Gothic kingdom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 The customs of the Country of the sword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Launch pads for Gothic campaigns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 Section 28 The times of Boz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 “Scythian” wars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 The great campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 The golden decades of peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 The Scourge of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 The path with the length of sixty centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282 Chapter 2 From the Antes to Rus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 Five “dark ages” from the history of the Land. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 Section 1 About ancient Slavs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 From Veneti to Antes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 Archeological searches of Veneti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Veneti at war . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 Section 2 The first appearance of Antes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Antes, Boz and Goths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 The boundaries of “the Antean land” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 What did they fight for? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 Section 3 The Universe drew back in front of them. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 Huns: from Scythia to Gaul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 Terrible Huns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306 Huns and Rome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

6

Section 4

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8

Section 9

Section 10 Section 11

Section 12

Section 13

Section 14

Section 15

Section 16

The next battle for Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311 The peculiarities of the European politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311 The Catalaunian Plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312 Slavs and Huns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 The successors of Sarmatia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 The search of ancestral home of Slavs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 The ancestral home at your choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 What can trees tell us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 Genetic data about the Slavic ancestral home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321 In the search of Antes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 Excavations near the village of Penkivka and Antes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 The treasures of the Iron Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 Who are the bearers of the Penkivka culture? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 The treasures of Antes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331 Where did the treasures come from? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331 A warrior’s belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 An ear piece or a cheek piece? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333 Dancing men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 Who is the owner of the treasure? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 Knyaz Kyi and his city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 The time of legends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 The “official” history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 Myths and reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 “The Dnieper city” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 How old is Kyiv?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 Legends and anniversaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344 In search of the city of Kyi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 The traces of the city on Starokyivska Hora. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 The mountain with many names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 The mountain which disappeared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 Two cities of knyaz Kyi?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354 What was found?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356 The city of craftsmen on the border with the steppe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359 They came back from the Danube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359 Who destroyed the city? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364 The outpost of the Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367 Chersonesos–Kherson–Korsun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367 Life at the turn of epochs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370 The test for durability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372 The light of faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 Legends and history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 Temple building in Taurica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 The crypts of Kherson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 Taurica: life on the frontier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387 Forgotten strongholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387 Settlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 Forgotten shrines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393 Life in the country Dori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 The people of the country Dori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397 Crypts on the slopes of mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397 Who ordered “eagle head” clasps from jewelers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 In search of the owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401 Bulgaria in the Pontic steppes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403 A monument in the forest in the Poltava region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403 The Pereshchepyna Treasure – the treasure of khan Kubrat?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405 “United we stand” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406 Great Bulgaria or Khazaria? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408 Sclavenian antiquities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 From the Dnieper to the Elbe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 Everyday life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413 The stronghold near the village of Zymne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415 The capital of powerful Dulebes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

7

Section 17 Obres and Slavs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419 Rebels, destroyers, tramps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419 The imperial gift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421 The battle might of the khaganate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423 The Constantinople epopee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 The fall of the Avar khaganate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428 Section 18 From Ukranenland to Hisn as’Sakaliba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 Ukranenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 Slavs and the Byzantine Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432 The instructions on the fight with Slavs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433 Slavs in Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435 Section 19 In the outskirts of Khazaria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439 The Celestial Empire gives the go-ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439 The traces of the state Khazaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 The descendants of Sarmatian tribes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441 Neighbors-Bulgars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443 Section 20 About the settlements of Khazaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445 Nomads’ camps and villages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445 A potter’s workshop in the gully of Kantsirka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446 The cities of northwestern Khazaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448 Section 21 Steppe “treasures”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 Treasures or burial places? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 The find on the construction site in Dniprelstan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454 Treasures in square 59. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 Animals and birds from Byzantine banners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458 The initial version: the military camp and the lost battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461 The Glodosy treasure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462 Farewell to the great chief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Section 22 The khaganate grows in strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 Between victories and defeats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 Rebirth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467 The niceties of the Eastern trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468 Khazars and Kyiv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469 Section 23 The times of inspiring knyazes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473 Where Slavs “settled” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473 Severians: two cultures of the same tribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 From the life of ordinary Severians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476 Slavs in a Donets ancient settlement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 Severians and Khazaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479 Section 24 The country of Polans, the country of Drevlians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481 Excavations in the Rayky meadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481 One culture for a few “tribes”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483 In search of Polans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485 Section 25 Between the Carpathians and the Dnieper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489 About the role of the rope in the life of Slavs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489 The cities of Slavic lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491 The time of small and big chiefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494 Section 26 When empires decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497 Wealth, power and glory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498 Vikings and Varangians, the new “people of the sword” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499 The hakan of the Rus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503 Section 27 Rus and the people of Rus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 The riddle of the name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 The invitation of Rurik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507 Following the traces of konung Rurik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508 The secret of the genealogy of Rurikids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510 The way to the Middles Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523

8

Preface The long development of the Ukrainian nation has received a new impetus in the period since 19911, with political independence and a growing sense of recognising and nurturing its own place in Eastern Europe and the globalised world system. One facet of this growth has been the possibility of distancing new forms of Ukrainian history from the dominant, Marxist-led narratives of the past. This has led to an exciting series of new, popular books in which local factors have been identified as playing important roles in the past in tandem with global factors – as much in prehistory as in history. However, this widespread freedom of expression has allowed the emergence of a strong ‘fringe’ archaeology, in which elements

of the paranormal, the fantastic and even the nationalist have combined to produce travesties of the Ukrainian past. The undoubted right of such authors to produce these unscientific and biased accounts of the past must be balanced by the right of archaeologists and historians to criticise such works and to write their own versions of the past which are, in many senses, truer to the evidence in hand. The question of ‘who owns the past?’ is therefore very much on the agenda in Ukraine at present. It should not be thought that these ‘standard’ historical texts remain true to the evidence at the cost of being dry-as-dust, stuffy or ‘academic’, in the worst sense of texts written in incomprehensible jargon by one author for a coterie of six readers.

John Chapman and students of Durham University at excavations. Trypillia Culture “mega-site” from the beginning of 4th millennium BC near Nebelivka, Kirovograd domain. Ukraine, September, 2009

9

Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Mykhailo Videiko’s latest book is an excellent example of a popular book, which is accessible to all general readers but which does not compromise the high standards of his own scholarship. The book takes the long-term view of the prehistory of the Ukraine, creating a narrative that takes the reader from later prehistory (the early farming communities of the 5th millennium BC) to the perhaps better-known historical period in the AD 10th century. It does not take the use of a chapter title ‘The Silicon Valley of Old Europe’ to make us realise that this book is the product of high-tech graphics and an imaginative use of Google Earth images. These images are for the most part previously unpublished in the West and never discussed in languages other than Ukrainian or Russian. The broad canvas which Videiko gives himself to paint images of the Ukrainian past leads to a masterful synthesis over a period of 6,000 years. There is a long section on the Trypillia culture, a suite of communities whose largest settlements were as large as the first cities of the Near East – and a thousand years earlier than Uruk. Successive chapters give us new visions of the Bronze Age, especially the way in which the Trojan War impacted upon the steppe lands North of the Black Sea and the importance of Baltic amber in cultural life. It is when his-

torical evidence becomes available from 500 BC onwards that Videiko weaves an even more intricate tapestry of the past, with local steppe tribes, whether Scythian or Sarmatian, interacting with colonising groups from the Mediterranean civilisations – notably the Greeks and the Macedonians under Alexander the Great but also, later, the Romans. It may be thought that ‘fringe archaeology’ is inherently more exciting and attractive than ‘mainstream archaeology’ to general readers because of the (literally) amazing stories that they tell. But this volume matches fringe fantasies story for story, image for image and comes off on top. It is a wonderful example of the evidence of the past being marshalled to create vivid and believable stories of the Ukrainian past – a much more satisfying achievement than the creation of fantasized pasts. I encourage you to delve into the pasts encapsulated in these pages; I predict that your love of the past will be strengthened as much as your understanding of the prehistory and history of the Ukraine will be deepened. John Chapman*, Durham, 15/V/2010

* Dr. John Chapman, Reader in the Archaeology Department, Durham University, Great Britain Current proejct – "the Neolithic Climax Settlements Project" – aims to make a comparative study of the Tripolye mega-sites of the Uman Region, Ukraine, with the Lengyel rondels of SW Hungary.

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Chapter 1

From Trypillia to the Antes

Pages of the ancient history In ancient times this land, its forests, rivers and plains, towns and villages had different names: Cimmeria, Scythia, Sarmatia, Zamorya, Levedia, Dori, Arkheim, Rus, Borisfen, Danprastadir, Ister, Tiras, Hypanis, Olvia, Tira, Azagarion… Names which are sometimes unintelligible and even unknown now. What did they mean? What epoch did people who invented these names live, what tribes and peoples uttered them? Answers to this and many other questions are known by a small number of experts- archeologists who are engaged in everyday scientific work. Expeditions, excavations, research of finds and open objects, conferences and symposia, preparation of scientific works for publication the archeologist’s life was based and is still based on this eternal, charmed circle. And only seldom, during excavations, replying to the questions of occasional visitors, scientists directly share their findings and knowledge with the public without intermediaries like journalists and television. A few decades of working shoulder to shoulder with leading archeologists from different scientific centers of Ukraine gave the author a unique opportunity to receive data about new discoveries, hypotheses, facts, to observe the opening of the veil of secrecy over lots of events of the ancient history of this land. Every year the number of expeditions increases and also the scales of research work are extended1. An amazing and unpredictable mosaic of the ancient history is gradually formed from the traces of the past events which were discovered during excavations. Speaking with colleagues from neighboring countries or countries which are remote from Ukraine gave us an

opportunity not only to take a detached view at these discoveries, but also made us try to find the place of our land on the unique and inimitable historical canvas of the Old World. Among the variety of ancient cultures and civilizations which are connected with the history of this Land there is a number of imposing names which are known to everybody. These are such archeological cultures as Trypillian, Chernyakhiv and also such peoples which are well known in the history as Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Slavs. Everything which remains in the shadow between them most often. For instance, the period of more than two thousand years which lies between the Trypillian culture and Scythians is constantly falling out of historical surveys. But no doubt that during these two thousand years historical events also occurred in this land and they cannot be reduced to the simple statement from textbooks: “stone labor instruments were replaced by bronze labor instruments, but they were worse than iron ones that’s why there was practically no progress.” But views like that now look like anachronisms. For example, it appears that the society which still does not know either a wheel or written language and also uses copper or stone axes can be organized not worse and sometimes in a more complex way than the society of the happy owners of iron axes, swords, carts and other technological novelties of the ancient times. Archeology changes the horizons of history, brings more and more new knowledge about the ancient peoples and is constantly changing views about them. This book is a series of stories about some episodes of the ancient histoWitnesses of millenniums, archeological finds

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Publication of 1993 dedicated to archeological excavations on the territory of Ukraine of the past, in 1992 amounted to about 200 pages of a small format (Археологічні дослідження на Україні 1992 року. — Київ, 1993. — 207 с. (Archeological investigations in Ukraine of 1992.)), and a collection of works which informs about researches of 2005—2007 already amounted to 500 pages of twice as much format: Археологічні дослідження в Україні 2005—2007 рр. — Київ—Запоріжжя, 2007. — 528 с. (Archeological investigations in Ukraine of 2005—2007).

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Excavations of the population of the Trypillian culture. Picture by V.V. Khvoika, the end of the 19th century

ry. These stories are mainly based on the results of archeological investigations which were conducted both a long time ago and a short time ago. It’s an excavation that contributes to receiving new information which has been unknown before about “textbook” events. Below are a few examples from the contents of the chapters of this book. Even experts sometimes regard the Trypillian culture as something united, integral and monolithic and its bearers as an ancient, united people. In fact, archeologists determined quite a long time ago that we are speaking about the whole epoch which lasted for more than two thousand and five hundred years. During this time instead of one common culture at the beginning a few dozens of local groups were formed and each group which existed in some period of time included some ancient tribes and even unions of tribes. Each of these unions had their own customs, culture, maybe, some special language or dialect, and, of course, their destiny was quite different. And we know even less about the neighbors of Trypillians, but for the same two thousand years there were quite a lot of them. A lot of things have been written about the mysterious disappearance of Trypillia; there are quite exotic verArcheological excavations, the 1950s of the 20th century

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sions about it including disastrous flood, an attack of aliens or transition to another reality. As a matter of fact, the fading of the ancient agricultural civilization of the Copper Age which was caused by unfavorable climatologic conditions lasted for more than five centuries and hasn’t been a secret for long. “The Dark centuries” which followed the centuries of the Trypillian epoch were even less lucky. During the Bronze Age in the steppes of our Land there existed the most ancient cultures of nomads. Surprising as it is they not only preserved part of the cultural heritage of the past epoch, but also mastered the most advanced inventions and technologies of that time, for example, a wheel and metallurgy, kept in touch with remote countries. The tribes of the late Bronze Age went down in history not only as the masters of trade routes and rich copper mine, but also as participants of fierce events of the epoch including the Trojan War. Among archeological finds connected with epic legends about that war there is even an ancient fortress. The archeologists who discovered it consider this ancient settlement as “the town of Cimmerian men” in places where “the ingenious Odysseus” visited them. Since then and to the present day we have received a

Pages of the ancient history

Excavations of the Melitopol burial mound, the burial place of the Scythian ruler. Picture by E. F. Pokrovsky, 1954

lot of vessels which are covered with mysterious signs. These finds suggest that residents of the steppes and ancient settlements may have used written language which is unknown to us and which was lost some time later. It’s thanks to an excavation that scientists found the traces of Cimmerians which had been mentioned by ancient authors and also learned a lot of details of their history. The trophies which were found in ancient burial mounds confirm that Cimmerians followed by Scythians really visited Asia. Though it has been known from written sources before. However, the excavations of the ancient cities Assyria and Babylon not only increased the number of these sources by many times, but also revealed real traces of the presence of “limited Scythian contingent” in the form of typical arrowheads. And excavations and finds in Europe to the west of the Carpathian Mountains revealed the information about Cimmerian and Scythian marches to these lands which was practically unknown to historians.

The details of the life and history of our Land of the Scythian time are as interesting. They concern not only the genealogy of the strangers from “the depths of Asia”, separate episodes of their history and relations with neighbors. Now sometimes it is known more about Scythian weapons and their armor than about the weapons of the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Rus. We got a better insight into the great city of Helonus, the biggest fortress of Europe of the Iron Age which is more known as the Belsk ancient settlement to the north of the Poltava region. Finally, we managed to learn a lot of details about how exactly Scythians had buried their sovereigns and also about how these treasures had been robbed in ancient times and in less remote times. It was impossible to pass by the history of the relations of the residents of our land with two sovereigns of Macedon Philip II and his son, Alexander, who had been called the Great for his conquests in Europe and Asia.

Archeological excavations, the end of the 20th century the beginning of the 21st century

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Both of them tried to extend the borders of their state in Europe including at the expense of steppes near the Black Sea. For more than a century thanks to excavations we have been receiving more and more new data connected with the march of the thirty-thousand Macedonian army to the walls of Olvia headed by Zopyrion. These details became known thanks to the discovered ancient inscriptions, letters, scratches on the splinters of vessels, lead projectiles for slings or treasures with coins and also the armors of warriors of the Macedonian phalanx which had been invincible. Thanks to these finds we can better understand the scope of plans of the king Alexander connected with conquests and also how these plans were partially disturbed by the resistance of the residents of a very small Hellen polis of Olvia and their neighbors, the bellicose Scythians. The events of the ancient history were affected, sometimes in a greater way and even in a critical way, not by the march of invincible warriors, but by the climatic fluctuations which caused the change of the average temperature only by a few degrees. It was impossible to win a victory over drought and cold winter in the steppe in a fair fight with weapons in your arms. For instance, there is quite a grounded hypothesis that Scythians were forced from the steppes not by the bellicose Sarmatians who came from the east, but by the change of the climate which made it impossible to roam in these places for some time. Sarmatians are connected with a lot of interesting episodes of the ancient history of our land which are not well known. Sarmatian chiefs acted both as allies and enemies of the formidable Roman Empire and sometimes they even defeated the Roman legions which were considered invincible. And when Sarmatian warriors suffered an overwhelming defeat in the battle on the ice of the Danube, their great platoon joined the army of the empire. It was sent to a remote island named Britain where the Sarmatian cavalry took part in lots of fights. Archeologists found proofs that warriors from remote steppes had been part of the Roman garrison. The appearance of the Sarmatian cavalry in Britain was, according to some researchers, one of the sources of the legend about the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur. By the way, one of the first places in the list of hisModern reconstruction of costumes, technologies and weapons of past times

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torical prototypes of the legendary king is occupied by the commander of the legion which joined the Sarmatian platoons. For more than a century experts of ancient geographical maps have been seeking on the territory of our Land and to be more precise in Dnieper area, for traces of cities mentioned by the Hellen geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus. Archeologists are aware of the ruins of more than fifteen ancient settlements which can be claimed to be one of the sonorous names mentioned by him: Azagarion, Metropolis, Sar; it’s worth while saying that some of these settlements have already been studies. These events and a lot of others from the past of our Land will be dealt with on the pages of this book. It covers the period from the beginning of the Copper Age, the times of the Trypillian culture, to the first centuries of our era, the times of the Antes. That’s why the book is called “From Trypillia to the Antes”. The material for the book was collected in a different way. There are a lot of impressions of the author of archeological excavations, conversations with researchers and acquaintance with books written by them. I’m grateful to my colleagues who helped me to specify and receive unique data, shared illustrations for the book. A lot of stories appeared on the basis of the study of antiquities acquired from the land of Ukraine which are presented in museums and private collections. The data of scientific reports about archeological excavations have also been used. Numerous data presented on the pages of this book have been received thanks to the work of a few generations of researchers. Each find and each discovery has their authors. This book is not a systematic description of the ancient history of this Land. Even judging by the names of the sections you can understand that these are just separate pages, episodes that seemed to be rather vivid and interesting, about which there is an opportunity to speak in greater detail. Thinking about real and made-up history made me think about the fact that a lot of things which had happened in the ancient times had a striking ability to repeat in present days in the land which is now called Ukraine. Maybe the description of the ancient history will make you think not only about the past and the present, but also about the future of our country. Mykhailo Videiko

Section 1

When we were in Old Europe

n those ancient times when the History hasn’t “begun yet, in Sumer”, in the south of Europe the establishment of civilization started. The borders of this civilization reached the Dnieper at the end of the 5th century BC. Its component parts demonstrated certain independence at that time and had quite an original appearance. The portrait of the eastern part of the European world of the Copper Age, to be more precise the Trypillian culture, is, in fact, a result of the team work of many generations of archeologists for more than 130 years. Almost three hundred scientists from a dozen of countries have written about one hundred books and a few thousand articles for this time, step by step rescuing the heritage of millenniums from obscurity. In some museums of not only Ukraine, but also in neighboring countries and sometimes in rather remote countries you can now see things that were created by the hands of Trypillians.

I

Which Europe is Old? Recently the word combination “Old Europe” might have been seen in the press quite often. As a rule, politicians and journalists mean the cooperation of European countries, established in the period between the Second World War and the collapse of “the socialist camp”, which is known as “United Europe” – EU. After its borders were extended in a considerable way after the collapse of “the system of socialism”, it was necessary to distinguish previous and new members of the community. The latter ones are sometimes called “New Europe”. Ukraine which is outside the borders of both “Old” and “New Europe” has been trying to join this community lately. Everything is quite logical. So, now we have “United Europe” with “Old” and “New” in the middle. Thus Ukraine seems to be outside Europe (both Old and New); here geographical facts obviously give place to political ones. There’s nothing we can do here, this is how things came around, this is history. The interesting thing is that, in fact, in this modern history there is nothing new. Because some time ago everything was quite the contrary,

the lands of Ukraine were included into “Old Europe”, and it was not in some alternative reality, but a few millenniums ago. Let’s start with the fact that “Old Europe” was initially constructed not by political scientists, politicians or even by journalists, but… by archeologists. This term has existed for a few decades and it is applied to quite different territories of our continent and in terms of time cultures which are considered to belong to Old Europe are separated from modern times by lots of time which amounts to six or eight millenniums.

Old Europe and archeological cultures that represent it in the 5th millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Old Europe itself in those ancient times was one of the several centers of the establishment of civilization on the planet Earth. Although in a territorial way it greatly differed from the present geopolitical configuration. As countries which are now considered to be the centers of civilization at that time were inhabited by peoples who were, to put it mildly, not the most “advanced” both in a technological way and in a cultural way. The civilized part of that “first” Old Europe1 included the eastern part of the Apennine peninsula, the Balkans, the territory of modern Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova and part of the territory of Ukraine from the Carpathians to the Dnieper. Its separate oases also existed beyond the mentioned above borders and were connected, first of all, with the expansion of the bearers of the Neolithic culture of Linear Band Pottery. It is quite possible that frontier tribes on the banks of, for example, the Seine or the Rhine (to say nothing about the banks of the Thames or the lands of Scandinavia) looked at that formation with the same envy as modern Ukrainians now look at the life of their western neighbors. And probably some of them strived to integrate with them in the same way. More “advanced” in an economic, technological and social way rich tribes of Old Europe looked with the same doubt or even with fear (and somebody, maybe, even with arrogance) at their poor western and northern neighbors who were extremely distant from the standards of the civilization adopted on the banks of the Dnieper, to say nothing about the Danube or the Dnister.

Trypillian statuettes. The early stage of the Trypillian culture, the beginning of the 5th millennium BC

The Trypillian world – part of Old Europe The Cucuteni-Trypillian civilization which is more known in Ukraine as the Trypillian archeological culture was part of Old Europe on the territory of modern Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. It was named after the village of Trypillia located about 40 km from the capital of modern Ukraine Kyiv. It was discovered at the end of the 19th century and it received its name thanks to excavations performed by archeologist Vikentiy Khvoika who carried out a research of its settlements in Dnieper area. In Moldova and Romania it is called Cucuten. It is understood that even after one hundred and a half years of researches the information about the life of Trypillians is far from being complete, though we can get quite an impressive picture. The bearers of this culture produced painted ceramics, built two-storied dwellings, worked copper (the deposits of which they managed to find on the territory of Western Ukraine). Big settlements of Trypillians, prototowns, are known; their area amounted to hundreds of hectares. Trypillians had a complex system of mythological conceptions. They maintained direct or indirect relations with other cultures of that time, carried out economic and cultural exchange not only within Old Europe, but also with other European tribes, with Caucasus, maybe, even with Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Seven or six thousand years ago, basing The products of Trypillians from Middle Dnieper area. The second half of the 5th millennium BC

1

You can find more details about Old (or Ancient) Europe in the book: Гимбутас M. Цивилизация Великой Богини. Мир Древней Европы // Москва, 2006 (translation of the English book published in 1991: Gimbutas M. The Civilisation of Goddess: The world of Old Europe).

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Section 1. When we were in Old Europe solely on their knowledge and skills and also on the resources of the fabulously wealthy country which is now called Ukraine, these people established their civilization here.

Creation of the new world The modern civilization is based, in one way or another, on agriculture and metal, without these two components it is impossible. Even ancient Sumerians replying to the question, when was the world created, responded: when people started baking bread and melt metal. Till the emergence of the Trypillian culture in the second half of the sixth millennium BC grain growing in Europe had been known for more than a thousand years. This branch of economics was also known on the banks of the Dnister, the Dnieper and even on the shore of the Sea of Azov, but it was not widely spread here. The first largescale attempt to develop the fertile lands made by the bearers of the culture of Linear Band Pottery was limited to a few western regions of Ukraine.

How Trypillians went to get some water. The modern reconstruction of Trypillian clothes and vessels

The picture of a snake head on a vessel of the early stage of the Trypillian culture. The beginning of the 5th millennium BC

It’s worth noting that till the end of the sixth millennium the density of the population of “Old Europe” which occupied at that time only the center of the continent (mainly Danube area) and the Balkans was increasing in a fast way. Although the number and the quality of lands in the region left much to be desired. Meanwhile, to the east of the Carpathians there were huge tracts of fertile land which summarily exceeded all the lands of the same quality in the other part of the continent by many times. The forest area (the area of forests of the temperate zone) and also the forest-steppe area between the Carpathians and the Dnieper looked especially attractive. And the most important thing was that these lands were barely inhabited. Only in the basins of large rivers there lived small communities who knew how to grow grain, but were primarily involved in hunting and fishing. Abundant local resources allowed them not to spend lots of time on backbreaking work with hoes in the fields. In terms of culture the Trypillian culture of the early stage (in the opinion of archeologists) represents synthesis of several cultural traditions of Old Europe of the A fragment of the statuette sculpted in a realistic style. Trypillian culture, the first half of the 4th millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Neolithic Age. Here we can notice the trace of the culture of Linear Band Pottery, the Boian culture, the Tisa culture and the Vin?a culture. One may have such an impression that after some rather dramatic events in the area of modern Transylvania a group of people gathered (from a few hundred to one thousand) who belonged to several different tribes. This group made an attempt to settle down in a world which was situated to the east of the Carpathians. This experiment turned out to be exceptionally successful and already two hundred years later groups of settlers not only founded dozens of settlements between the Carpathians and the Dnieper, but also penetrated far into the Southern Bug. Sometimes one can have such an impression that this movement was encouraged not by the economic need, but by the desire to secure as much land as possible taking into account the future. The thing is that none of the known Trypillian settlements existed in one place for more than 50–80 years in a row. At the end of this period a new settlement was founded, sometimes just 500 – 1,000 m from the previous one. This process lasted for more than two millenniums of the Trypillian history. If it was caused by the peculiarities of farm management (the transfer of fields in connection with the exhaustion of the

soil), then the desire to control more and more territories had quite serious grounds. Anyway, already one thousand years later after the emergence of Trypillians in Prykarpattia they reached the middle reach of the Dnieper. The traces of their residence which are dated back to that time were even discovered on the territory of the modern capital of Ukraine, the city of Kyiv. They managed to find even a sanctuary, a small artificial(!) cave near the entrance of which a vessel had been buried; this vessel had ornaments in the form of stylized pictures of snakes. So, having a beer (by the way, according to the findings of excavations Trypillians were the first to master to brew this beverage here) somewhere in the center of Kyiv, sitting at a table with a view over the Dnieper, we can see the eastern border of the civilization of Old Europe of the end of the fifth millennium BC.

Economic system: progress or a dead end at the same time? The ancient methods of farm management proved their effectiveness during the long period of two and a half millenniums of the existence of the Trypillian civilization. The system of grain growing developed by Trypillians existed for five thousand years and was substantially changed only in the 11th century AD, in the times of knyaz Yaroslav the Wise when new grades of grain crops were brought to these lands.

An impression of an ear on the bottom of a Trypillian vessel (the end of the 4th – the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC) and an ear of the same cereal

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Section 1. When we were in Old Europe

This is the form in which archeologists find grains from harvests grown by Trypillians five thousand years ago

The Trypillian system of farm management was complex and gave an opportunity to assure relative prosperity. But prosperity not only feeds, but sometimes also corrupts, leads to stagnation in the development of technologies, why invent something new, make spare efforts when the things are OK at the first glance? Trypillians paid a high price for this tendency

in economy, their civilization died and the name of the people who established it has vanished from the pages of history forever. At first the transfer of Trypillians to grain growing was really economic revolution which allowed them by many times to increase the effectiveness of the applied efforts and accordingly to increase the production efficiency. Glumaceous wheat was the main farm crop. Resistant to drought, diseases and pests, this grade was optimal for the local conditions. Besides wheat, they also grew barley, oats and peas. They cut the grown crops with sickles of wood and horns with flint insertions. They improved sickles. They found a way to work flint plates with A flint blade with a toothed the help of which on edge – an ancient Trypillian the working edge teeth sickle (the 4th millennium BC) similar to the ones which can now be seen on modern metal sickles were formed. By the way, according to the comparative experiment with the copies of sickles, the present metal sickles are more effective than the flint Trypillian ones only by one-and-a-half times. Big plates for sickles were made, as a rule, of quality delivered raw materials and they were valued not less than metal, copper products. In animal breeding the main branch was breeding great cattle. Meat and milk trends can be noticed quite easily. Besides, bulls and horses were used as pulling power. Pigs, horses, sheep and goats were also bred. A reasonable combination of different directions of “the agricultural sector” gave Trypillians an opportunity

A handle from a vessel in the form of an animal. The beginning of the 5th millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

A copper nugget, equipment and products of Trypillian craftsmen which were found during archeological excavations V—IV millennium BC

An ear and a grain of emmer wheat which was grown by Trypillians in the lands of Ukraine seven – five thousand years ago. This harvest was grown and reaped in the summer of 2006 in the experimental field near the village of Ullyanyky of the Kyiv region

to provide food also to a certain number of their fellow tribesmen who were not involved in the production of food all the time. However, these fellow tribesmen also had a lot of things to do working for their “bread” by sweat of their brows near melting furnaces and hearths, in galleries and mines, in potteries and flint workshops.

Copper of the Land Now when Ukraine imports or collects copper in the form of scrap for its industry, it’s worth pointing out that the first metallurgists in their lands were Trypillians. And it happened almost seven thousand years ago. As in the subsurface areas of our Land (just between the Dnieper and the Dnister) up to 28 million tons(!) of copper deposits have already been prospected (by present geologists). The study of archeological finds showed that Trypillians had used these fantastic treasures already in the 5th millennium BC.

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According to researchers, the technology of processing copper (and the skills for its extraction) appeared on the territory of Ukraine in a ready state at the end of the 6th or at the beginning of the 5th millennium BC. These “high” (at that time) technologies were adopted by Trypillians from the Balkan peoples and from the “main forge” of Old Europe Transylvania. Soon they mastered the “domestic” ore extraction and the production of a wide range of useful and necessary things. However, at fist ancient metallurgists worked with imported raw materials. In addition, the extraction of ore and virgin metal was begun in Volhynia and in Naddnistryanshchyna. The analysis of products also showed that part of metal had been brought into even from the East, from Donets Basin, the only thing which is unknown is who extracted it at that time. Metallurgy and metalwork required extensive knowledge and skills. They required a high degree of expertise and could develop successfully only if there were experts who were engaged solely in this production of professionals. The professional of that epoch had to know a lot of things. He could find ore deposits or determine the place where it was possible to gather copper nuggets. He could by sight (without any gauge!) determine the temperature to which the workpiece of an axe is heated (otherwise waste) or the state of metal in the ceramic melting crucible. Copper and flint axes: the material is different, the form is the same. Trypillian culture, the second half of the 5th millennium BC

Section 1. When we were in Old Europe

A copper bar - an indispensable tool for adjusting sickles and making arrowheads of flint. Trypillian culture, the second half of the 4th millennium BC

Copper things were not something exotic, the property of the elite, as it was claimed by researchers before. As copper “awls” – spotters for flint sickles were necessary in every household. In addition, in many dwellings they found items of animal bones or horns with the marks of copper blades – they were obviously better than the flint ones. And how many copper beads were necessary for adornments which the wives of Trypillians liked so much? So, miners, metallurgists and smiths had plenty of customers taking into account the number of households and Trypillians themselves in the lands between the Carpathians and the Dnieper. The work with metal quickly became not only an important part of the economic complex. The received products had a considerable effect on the development of the military science, the entire traditional culture. Metal products become components of the first treasures – beads, plates, bracelets, axes become an equivalent, expression of prestige and prosperity of separate persons and even whole communities.

The Silicon Valley of Old Europe

workings where white flint was extracted in such an amount that it would be enough for the production of dozens of thousands of axes. Even in Dnieper area Trypillians found flint pebble in deep ravines which were brought there by a glacier. One of the biggest centers of these mines was found by archeologists in Volhynia in the area of the village Bodaky (all in all there are a few dozen of them). Here, on the river Horyn, in the “Silicon valley” of Old Europe big flint plates with the length of more than 20 cm were made. In order to break such a plate off the workpiece-core, it was necessary to apply the effort of one hundred kilos. Human hands wouldn’t have handled such work. Ancient skilled craftsmen had to construct a special workbench with levers which was practically the first machine in their parts. Such a big plate, possessing some skills, could be transformed into a blade of sickles and knives, sharpened points of darts or arrows. Wastes could be easily used for the production of scrapers; they were necessary for working animal skin. Even flakes, fragments of flint were used, as it was necessary to strike fire in some way. The interesting thing is that such metal-working production was impossible without the use of copper tools which were intermediaries for breaking off plates and well-hardened bars-spotters (archeologists call them “awls”, though most often they had nothing to do with weaving) for working edges of the products. And almost every household needed to have such a tool.

The appearance of the new material, copper, did not stop the production of old tools of flint which had been tested by dozens of millenniums of the human history. Their production in Trypillian times was practically on an industrial basis. Near flint deposits there appeared settlements which entirely specialized in its extraction and processing. Serial production of different workpieces and tools was organized. The traces of ancient prospect holes and galleries of a considerable amount were found in Prykarpattia and in Volhynia, on the Dnister and even in the north of the Kirovohrad region. On Products and semi-finished products from flanks of Bila Hora which towers above the a Trypillian flint-working workshop in Dnister area, the 4th millennium BC Dnister water-storage basin there are mine

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Because from time to time the edges of sickles and other products needed “sharpening” releasing thin flakes of flint. So, it is not worth taking on trust statements that “copper products in the Eneolithic Age were rare and that’s why practically did not influence the development of economy”. If you look at it more carefully, then without copper tools that ancient economy sometimes would have been somewhat featureless. Products and raw materials of the Volhynia and the Dnister origin were spread not only within, but also far beyond the areas of residence of Trypillians. Sometimes they are found hundreds of kilometers away, for example on the territory of modern Slovakia and Poland. One can trace even the specialization in the types of products between the mentioned above regions. It appeared because some products made of the local raw materials were better and some were inferior to similar products made in another place. For instance, in Volhynia they made good blades; the local raw materials were the best for this purpose. And Dnister white and grey flint was ideal for making numerous types of blade-like axes, addices and chisels of all sizes and calibers.

Trypillians who were not lucky with the reserves of raw materials had to exchange them for finished products with their neighbors who appeared to be in more beneficial conditions. It’s worth noting that almost half the population of Trypillians lived in the lands where decent, quality flint was a deficit. Thus, the exchange of flint flourished. Big plates became fast-moving and even prestigious products. They even buried them in the form of treasures. Probably, at that time the wealth of separate Trypillians (together with copper things) was measured with the number of such big and good plates.

The world made of clay One more high-technology production which spread in that ancient epoch beyond the domestic economy was pottery. Trypillian designers and production engineers

The reconstruction of a potter's workshop and equipment which was used when making vessels in the 5th – the 4th millennium BC

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Section 1. When we were in Old Europe

Pottery of Trypillians from the territory of Moldova, the 4th millennium BC

account for not only dozens of forms of pottery (the fashion for which changed almost in every generation of craftsmen), but also for the development of molding materials (for the improvement of the quality of products they used a mixture of clay from different layers and deposits), mineral paints (which haven’t faded after 60 centuries), the invention of the slow potter’s wheel, the construction of special (with two tiers!) furnaces for burning, the calculation of the modes of burning and even standardization of the finished products. For two and a half thousand years Trypillian craftsmen passed from hand-modeled, massive vessels decorated with an incised ornament, flutes and marks to making thin-walled painted pottery. Almost in every Trypillian community they had their own fashion for shapes and ornaments of pottery. If archeologists have a rather expressive fragment of a pot or a bowl, they can relatively easily determine, where, in what part of the Trypillian world and even when (with the accuracy of one hundred years) this vessel was made. With the help of this pottery you can study not only the chronology, but also the ethnography of the

Trypillian land, relations and contacts with neighboring tribes. The production of pottery later became mass because there was practically no alternative to ceramic dishes and vessels at that time. It has been calculated that during a year in a usual household not less than 50% of pottery is broken. And the number of vessels of different forms and sizes which are necessary for normal life amount to dozens and sometimes even to hundreds. So, Trypillian potters hardly had little work to do. The real monument to their two millennium titanic work is millions of pots and bowls, broken or intact, which are now mainly buried deep under the ground, among the ruins of ancient settlements. As those hundreds and thousands of vessels which has been excavated for the last 130 years by archeologists amount only to a small part of the products of Trypillian potters. There was also demand for painted vessels beyond the borders of the Trypillian populated area. They are found both in burial places under the most ancient steppe

Specimens of pottery of the early stage of the Trypillian culture, the beginning of the 5th millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Modern reconstruction of an ancient potter's furnace and burning copies of Trypillian vessels and statuettes in it

mounds and far to the north beyond the Western Bug. Even in the hardest times in the west of Trypillia there were entire settlements which produced thousands of painted vessels every year.

Trade as “the engine of economy” If in the times of Trypillia there were settlements and separate craftsmen who produced goods for export, then there must be people who were involved in this export. Somebody had to gather the goods intended for sale (flint, pottery, metal) and at some point of destination to exchange them for other valuable things. While doing this, this person had to take into account the market conditions and the fluctuation of demand and supply, to say nothing about regional peculiarities of the ancient “price formation”.

The traces of such traders can hardly be found by archeological means, but these traders can be “figured out”. For instance, all the residents of the prototown of Maidanetske (from about 6 to 10 thousand people), not to mention their cattle, needed salt. This product is vitally important. They needed it every day, every year. Simple calculations which had been made by J. Chapman gave just fantastic figures: tons of imported salt every year. Who was behind the salt business of the Copper Age? Where were the sources of salt? Was salt actually brought from Prykarpattia where its sources are known and from the territory of modern Romania where the traces of its extraction in the time of the Neolithic Age were found. In addition, in the same prototown of Maidanetske they needed a few thousand flint insertions-plates for sickles for harvesting every year. Those that were found during excavations had been made of Volhynia flint. And during fifteen(!) seasons of excavations local Maidanetske traces of the production of flint tools were never found. It means that tons of flint were brought here from distant places covering hundreds of kilometers. This scale of trade is rather good even for a separate settlement. Whatever we call this process – trade or exchange, its scale is quite impressive. And this is one of those events that can drastically (and forever) change the tribal world which used to be so shut, completely closed for strangers. Pottery made by Trypillian craftsmen from the interfluve of the Southern Bug and the Dnister. The second half of the 4th millennium BC

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Section 2

The flourishing of the Trypillian civilization ndeed, Old Europe achieved a lot of things – high (according to the criteria of that time) standards of life, created arranged and even comfortable way of life, developed high-technology production. Masterpieces of applied art and architecture were created. There appeared trade which united vast territories. This world was also united by religion, the cult of the Great Goddess. Written language arose, even if at first it was pictography. In addition, a new level of social development was reached, there even appeared urban-type settlements – in other words, the establishment of the civilization became a fact. However, this splendid world stopped in its development at some moment and then finally vanished. Really, when scientists determined more or less the spatial and chronological frames and other characteristics of the civilization of Old Europe, there emerged an inevitable question about the reasons for its decay in the fifth – fourth millennium BC. It was quite natural to start looking for "the enemy", the aggressor who had destroyed all these achievements. The conception of Marija Gimbutas describes waves of "burial mound peoples", bellicose nomads from the Pontic steppes who came from the East and flooded the archipelago of the first European civilization. Some time ago these ideas also had a lot of supporters in Ukraine (because its steppes are exactly that "East"). But now they do not seem very credible.

I

From settlements to towns Studying the settlements of grain growers of Old Europe on the territory of Greece, in the Balkans, in Danube area, researchers noted tendencies to urbanization which appeared already in the 6th millennium BC. In their opinion, they were embodied in the establishment of large settlements with fortification (sometimes even stone ones) and the population of 1,000 people. They are regarded as a result of an increase in the number of population and the fight for natural resources – similar processes occurred on all the territories of Old Europe where grain growing was flourishing at that time. It is sufficient to remember a well-known “Neolithic town” Gatalh`yhk in Anatolia. It is considered that even in the 7th millennium BC its population could amount to about 5,000. It would have been odd if similar tendencies hadn’t appeared in the Trypillian world. Already at the beginning of the 5th millennium BC

settlements started appearing here and the number of dwellings (and thus, the population) was no less than in other Old European “giants”. For instance, on one of the tributaries of the Southern Bug they discovered an entire early Trypillian enclave the central settlement of which occupied the area of about 10 hectares. It numbered more than one hundred and fifty dwellings, i.e. it had up to one thousand residents.

The map of the location of settlements of the Trypillian and Cucuteni cultures mentioned in the text. The 4th millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes The plan and the graphic reconstruction of Maidanetske – a Trypillian prototown with the area of more than 200 hectares with the findings of excavations and a magnetic survey

Already at the beginning of the second half of the fifth millennium BC the area of settlements of Trypillians reached 20-40 and in some places in the interfluve of the Bug and the Dnieper even 60-80 hectares. Taking into account a low density of dwellings, the population of these towns in terms of quantity could reach the community of the Neolithic “town” Gatalh`yhk in Anatolia. It seems that these were also the biggest settlements in Old Europe in the fifth millennium BC. A sound question arises: were these areas inhabited at the same time or were these hundreds and sometimes even thousands of people some kind of a common social organism? Before replying to this question, it is worth giving a short explanation how a response to it was found. In the 1970s of the 20th century military topographer K.V. Shyshkin, studying aerial photographs of the central regions of Ukraine between the Southern Bug and the Dnieper, found enigmatic objects which were clearly beyond the interests of his department. The arrival at the place and consultations with experts allowed suggesting that they were speaking about… settlements of the Trypillian culture. The problem was that these settlements, according to the topographer, had the area from 50-80 to 250-400 hectares. At first some archeologists stated that it was just impossible (because it can’t be possible at all). However, there were other archeologists who took the risk to check the results of the decoding of the aerial photographs. For this purpose in 1971 M.M. Shmahliy organized an expedition to the settlement near the village of

Maidanetske in the Cherkassy region. With the help of a magnetic survey geophysicist V.P. Dudkin till 1974 drew up a plan for researching the available part of a settlement with the area of about 180 hectares. There they found 1,575 anomalies from dwellings the excavations of which (they lasted till 1991) allowed determining that all this

The reconstruction of a Trypillian settlement of the early stage (the beginning of the 5th millennium BC) according to the findings of excavations

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Section 2. The flourishing of the Trypillian civilization

Pottery of the ancient residents of Maidanetske, the 4th millennium BC

super settlement not only had a rather arranged structure, but also (in a certain period of its history) had been inhabited practically at the same time! It was discovered that separate dwellings were connected in a common structure in some places, i.e. they had been constructed at the same time. In addition, pottery which had been found in the ruins (and excavations were carried out in different parts of the settlement) was similar, i.e. produced in the same period of time. Thus, it was the settlement that had extended, but at what moment all dwellings (and there might have been up to 2,000 of them) had been occupied! In other words according to the most modest calculations the population of this megalopolis of the Copper Age at a certain moment could number from 6,000 to 9,000 people. Isotopic data showed its absolute age: approximately the middle of the fourth millennium BC or five thousand and a half years ago! Further researches on the territory between the Southern Bug and the Dnieper (which, by the way, are still carried out) showed that there were a few dozen similar

settlements there. The biggest of them is situated between the villages of Talyanka and Lehedzine. It is almost of the same age as Maidanetske and its area amounts to about 400 hectares (for comparison: Kyiv, the capital of Rus in the 13th century occupied up to 400 hectares). A magnetic survey showed the housing development on the basis of the same plan and more than two thousand dwellings. Excavations also confirmed the simultaneous existence of the “megalopolis” which had been about 3.5 km across. Now researchers are aware of the existence of about 150 Trypillian settlements with the area of more than 10 hectares. And with the help of a magnetic survey and aerial photographs the development of almost forty of them was ascertained. They are known not only in the interfluve of the Southern Bug and the Dnieper, but also between the Bug and the Dnister, even in Moldova a few dozen such settlements were found. As a special phenomenon, giant settlements existed from the second half of the 5th millennium till the first half of the 3rd millennium The remains of a big Trypillian dwelling cleared during archeological excavations

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes think about the development of art. A ramified and largescale system of the exchange of raw materials and products of metal and flint was created (yearly need of one super settlement in flint insertions for sickles constituted a few tons and deliveries were directed from the territory of Volhynia which was hundreds of kilometers away!). A huge settlement with a few thousand residents could find a few hundreds or even a thousand warriors for its defense, if necessary. Such a powerful, for that time (and well-armed including “the most advanced” copper weapons), military contingent was quite sufficient to put neighbors who didn’t have such a “mobilized resource” off raising territorial and property claims. On the other hand, the concentration of the population in prototowns led to the appearance of previously unknown (or almost unknown) problems with ecology, exhaustion of natural resources, worsening of the quality of life. In principle, by their example we can observe practically the first display of the permanent ecological crisis which was provoked by humans.

Old European standards of life

The plan and reconstruction of a small Trypillian settlement in Dnieper area, the 4th millennium BC

BC, i.e. for more than one and a half thousand years. Thus we are speaking not about some accidental episode, but about a completely natural phenomenon in the history of this part of Old Europe, a phenomenon which deserves allround and thorough research. Strictly speaking, by the example of these giant settlements, prototowns, we can observe the initial stages of the process of urbanization with all its contradictions, positive and negative consequences. Solving economic and social problems which they faced, the Trypillian society created quite a complex hierarchical organization which is now called by researchers as chiefdom. This very sophisticated organization made it possible to solve problems in one way or another – from the distribution of land between separate families and clans, to assuring protection of the tribal territories and trade at a great distance. The division of labor led to the flourishing of handicrafts, which is especially noticeable by the example of beautiful pottery. Realistic “portrait” statuettes make you

Trypillians were one of the first to start building bigger and later sometimes even more comfortable dwellings. In order to get a general picture of a traditional Trypillian dwelling, it is sufficient to remember an ordinary Ukrainian hut covered with thatch. The main construction elements predetermined by the local conditions haven’t changed to a great extent for the last seven-five thousand years. All this suggests an optimal choice of both construction materials and the construction itself. Trypillian buildings included even two-storied ones. The first floor, as a rule, was intended for economic needs, the second one was used for living. Such a dwelling also had an attic. It’s worth noting that actually the attic is a rather important invention. If you add one more invention – the door, then in general you can already speak about a well-thought-out system of heat insulation of premises. A two-storied building is more useful this way and also a

A ceramic model of a two-storied dwelling. The Bug-Dnieper interfluve, the 4th millennium BC

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Section 2. The flourishing of the Trypillian civilization

dwelling in it both upwards and downwards is protected from cold not only with the help of floors and ceilings, but also with the help of air space. The better heat insulation is, the more the economy of energy carriers is. Although this was not electricity or gas which is now expensive, but just firewood. However, in the Trypillian times it was hard work to prepare this firewood with the help of a hand-axe and then bring them from the nearest forest. If you also include into these calculations the volume of wood, especially the one which is necessary for the construction of a roof, and at the same time imagine the process of preparing construction materials with the use of hand-axes, then a reply concerning the advantages of two-storied buildings becomes obvious.

Computer reconstruction of two-storied Trypillian dwellings

A ceramic model of a Trypillian dwelling which demonstrates a variety of forms and decoration of faHade – from painting in a few colors to woodcarving. The end of the 5th – the beginning of the 4th millennium BC, the interfluve of the Southern Bug and the Dnieper

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

This is how Trypillians depicted the interior of their dwellings. A ceramic model, the 4th millennium BC

It’s worth noting that judging by the appearance of ceramic models of dwellings which were found during excavations, Trypillian buildings didn’t look like standard, gloomy wattle and daub barracks under a rush roof at all. On the contrary, in the decoration of dwellings and interiors they used not only white, red and black paints,

but also woodcarving. Even the floor if it was not painted, then they painted the layer of the clay coating in tints of red. The surface of such a clay floor saturated with vegetable oil was not only smooth and warm, but also in terms of strength could be compared to laminated flooring boards which are popular now. For heating dwellings they constructed a massive hearth, a rectangle of clay 2×2 m, up to 40 cm thick. Such a layer of clay accumulated heat well. The heating was carried out “in a black way” and in order to remove smoke they used small round windows or holes in a wall. Dwellings were built, as a rule, with the area of a few dozen square meters. However, dwellings of bigger sizes, with the overall area of more than a few hundred square meters are known. For the first time in the local history a table and chairs, even armchairs appear in a room. For understandable reasons these items haven’t survived to this day, however, we have their ceramic copies which Trypillians liked to make so much. We also have an impressive arsenal of tools for woodwork, both stone and copper ones. Kitchen and household utensils, sometimes decorated in a luxurious way, were distinguished with a variety of forms and sizes. Maybe the availability of specialized vessels – all these fruit bowls, jugs, pots of different calibers and bowls strikes the most as compared to other cultures where roughly made pots dominated overwhelmingly not only in the kitchen, but also at a dinner table.

Trypillian feasts

Trypillian furniture – a ceramic model made at the beginning of the 5th – the middle of the 4th millennium BC

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The finds of a great number of bowls suggest that in those times every dweller could have their own tableware. It is somewhat strange when now some of people whose ancestors about one hundred years ago with all the members of their families ate borsch from the same pot allow themselves calling Trypillians primitive and uncivilized. The menu of Trypillian meals hasn’t survived, but we can try to reconstruct it basing on numerous archeological finds. Despite the “industrial” growing of wheat and barley, round loafs, kalatches and other grain foodstuff hardly decorated tables. Maybe only shortcakes. At least they were very nutritious and didn’t become hardened for long. Real bread was intended for travelers and warriors who went on a far journey. They were good at making cooked cereals which were nourishing and tasty – high content of proteins distinguishes emmer wheat which Trypillians liked so much. They hardly ate meat every day – they didn’t have so many cattle and they didn’t have any refrigerators either.

Section 2. The flourishing of the Trypillian civilization

An impression of cloth with decoration on the bottom of a Trypillian vessel and its reconstruction. The 4th millennium BC

two dozen styles of clothes of Trypillian fashion-conscious women and more than a dozen hairdos. The main type of clothes for men was a shirt, a band on the hip, an ornate belt and a baldric for weapons. Well processed leather was used to sew waistcoats and also good and high

Field experience of the reconstruction of the menu of a festive table of Trypillians

But meat dishes were definitely served on holidays. Besides beef, pork and mutton they also ate elk meat and venison, aurochs meat, sometimes horse meat. Fish broth (even turtle soup), fish and dairy dishes were served rather often. The surrounding lands allowed bringing some variety to the table in the form of mushrooms, berries, wild garlic and a lot of other edible plants. There was no harm in having a drink with such a snack. Trypillians always had something to drink. For example, beer. The traces of its brewing (fermented grains of barley) were found by Romanian archeologists. In addition, in Moldova impressions of grape stones were found – and it is possible to make an even more intoxicating drink from them. Trypillians’ clothes were distinguished not only with quality, but also with variety. Local beauties boasted dresses of textiles (weaving was one more innovation) decorated with embroidery, sewed bone and copper plates. As of today thanks to statuettes we know more than

A Trypillian priestess performs a rite. Modern reconstruction

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Modern reconstruction of a vertical weaving loom of Trypillians and an attempt to weave fabric on it

quality footwear – from sandals to boots. Numerous adornments also survived to this day – necklaces, bracelets, pendants. Some of them were taken from other regions, which one more time proves rather intensive trade activity of Trypillians.

We are peaceful people... It is quite possible that this very ceremonial, studied phrase uttered with good intonation was traditionally used by Trypillian chiefs to start negotiations with their neighbors. However, they and their counterparts in negotiations knew well that these were just polite words, a kind of a diplomatic protocol. Because both high parties knew: if it is necessary, “this peaceful” chief can set out for a fight a rather numerous and, as they say now, armed to the teeth (with the most advanced specimens of spears and axes) group of warriors. The finds of weapons, the traces of military clashes showed that a rather spread opinion regarding exceptionally peace-loving character of the grain growing society of Old Europe is no more than just an outdated myth created by scientists who embraced certain ideology. The range of weapons which can be reconstructed basing on the findings of excavations of Cucuteni-Trypillia

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settlements and burial grounds of that epoch is very impressive: hammers, hammer-axes (both stone and metal ones), knives and daggers (including copper ones), points of arrows and darts – according to all parameters this is practically the most advanced and effective set of weapons in this part of Old Europe. Metal axes-pane hammers were intended for the fight with enemies who had protective gear, at least a shield. By the way, blade weapons appeared in civilized (which is traditionally considered Battle hammer-axes and maces. The Trypillian culture, the end of the sixth – the beginning of the 5th millennium

Section 2. The flourishing of the Trypillian civilization Trypillian ammunition – flint points of arrows and darts, the 4th millennium BC

Copper stone hammer – the weapon of "peaceful" Trypillians from a treasure which was found on the territory of the Chernovtsy region

to be an extremely bellicose land) Mesopotamia only a few hundred years later than in Europe. Perhaps now it’s worth admitting: Old Europe seven-five thousand years ago was armed in an intensive and rather creative way regardless of seemingly quite peaceful and democratic look of “the civilization of Goddess”. Separate chiefdoms and huge settlements over the years became quite self-sufficient, withdrew into themselves, not admitting “strangers” even from Trypillian tribes. The lands between the Carpathians and the Dnieper appeared to be divided between powerful allies of tribes which conflicted mainly with one another, because in the immediate surroundings there were still no similar ethnopolitical groups. It seems that the Trypillian part of Old Europe in the 4th millennium BC might as well claim to have the leading role in this center of the ancient civilization. The processes and events described above are very similar to the ones which, in the opinion of researchers, took place in Mesopotamia in the fifththe fourth millennium BC

and led to the emergence of the first city-states there – Ur, Uruk, Lagash. One can be impressed by the scope of activity of the builders of prototowns of Trypillia. For the construction of one settlement like Maidanetske they had to fell trees in the area of more than a hundred hectares, to break up dozens of thousands of tons of clay! There were dozens, sometimes hundreds of vessels in dwellings. And if you count how many ceramic vessels were made for the whole time of the existence of the settlement, this number will be even more than a million. How many efforts were applied to create so many painted vessels! All this was done so that one day they abandon everything, give it to fire, sacrifice it in the name of the Idea. Circumstances and details ascertained during excavations allow suggesting that burning dwellings and settlements on the whole had some concrete cultural sense, was prepared thoroughly and was based on some ritual. A The rite of burning a Trypillian settlement. Computer reconstruction

35

Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes huge fire of hundreds and thousands of dwellings which occupied quite a vast territory must have looked much more impressive than the fire of legendary Troy. It has been calculated that efforts applied by Trypillians for “moving” to a new place and building a new settlement were equal to the efforts for creating an irrigation system which guaranteed the life of a similar community in Mesopotamia. And if there, according to the common opinion, “public work” became an impulse for the creation of the first states, then in the Trypillian world such a stimulus might as well be in the form of large-scale construction work dedicated to the tradition with a similar large-scale purpose – the maintenance of the order in the Universe.

The age of magic and the appearance of written language It has been noted above not once that the pivot of almost the whole life of the Trypillian world was not only the economic activity, but also spiritual life which, quite natural for that time, dominated. Objective reality led to a system of rites which in general were intended for maintaining the necessary order in the surrounding world. Rain, snow, sun, heat, change of seasons – everything must occur

The Trypillian prototype of the symbol "yin" and "yan": a stylized picture of a couple of snakes on a vessel. Middle Dnieper area, the second half of the 4th millennium BC

at a proper time. And in order to maintain this balance, it is necessary to perform appropriate magic acts and rites. Judging by the finds of pottery and patterns on it, almost every Trypillian family had their own set of magic symbols. In this period the main signs which are known to us were actively developed. In some pictures besides quite traditional swastika, crosses and spirals you can also see symbols which don’t seem to be characteristic of the current European tradition. For instance, the ancient Chinese symbol “yin and yan”. But it had been in circulation in Old Europe a lot of millenniums before Europeans learnt about the existence of China and its marvelous civilization in the first place. A developed system of symbols inherited from the most ancient Neolithic cultures of Old Europe laid down the foundations of the Trypillian one. And if now scientists do not doubt the existence of the Danube script (or the Old European script)1, then it’s worth noting that Trypillians knew it, too. A picture which resembles symbols "yin" and "yan": made on a wall of a ceramic model of a Trypillian temple. The end of the 5th – the beginning of the 4th millennium BC, the interfluve of the Southern Bug and the Dnieper

1

36

In 2004 in the city of Novi Sad (Serbia) the first international symposium dedicated to the research of the ancient script of Europe with the name "Signs of civilization" was held. The next one was held in 2008 in the city of Sibiu (Romania).

Section 2. The flourishing of the Trypillian civilization

However, at some moment the old tradition was almost lost. That’s why already in the age of prototowns the process of creating a similar system began again. And already till the middle of the fourth millennium in the Bug-Dnieper interfluve they used about three hundred signs which were painted on pottery and statuettes. In addition, there were certain rules of their use. Studying this system of signs T.M. Tkachuk made a conclusion that Trypillians were in the process of active accumulation of “the fund of signs”. Such a phenomenon in the future might as well lead to the creation of the original system of script. But this process was never finished.

Heritage of Old Europe, signs on Trypillian vessels. The second half of the 4th and the 5th millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Heritage of Old Europe, signs on Trypillian vessels. The second half of the 4th and the 5th millennium BC

Perhaps there was a reason why a millennium later one of the residents of Great Sumer who probably had had his own bitter experience stated in one inscription: “fortune-telling by bricks2 will not bring eternal life”. And magic didn’t save the Trypillian civilization either from decay or from oblivion.

A statuette and pottery with signs, the first half of the 5th millennium BC

Signs on painted vessels of the Trypillian culture, the 5th and the 4th millennium BC 2

38

To make it clearer: we are not speaking about any manipulation with construction materials, but about magic because the word brick in Sumer could also mean a clay plate with an inscription including a magic one.

Section 3

Peoples and languages of “The land of Trypilliada” he land of Trypilliada” – this name was given by our colleagues from Moldova to the issue of the journal dedicated to the centenary of the birth of a famous researcher of the Trypillian culture T. S. Passek. The fact that the words “languages” and “peoples” in the name of this section are in the plural is not accidental. There is no doubt that contrary to established definitions, “Trypillians” were not, at least for the biggest part of their 2500 year history, a united people. And even more, they hardly spoke the same “Trypillian” language during this time. So, modern re-enactors of the latter (and there are lots of them) will have a lot of work in the future connected with the reproduction of the system of sounds of the Trypillian language in its entirety and variety. However, the author has doubts (and these doubts are grounded) that this task will be performed with a persuasive result.

“T

Dimensions of the history of the ancient peoples The very duration of the existence of the Trypillian culture should have suggested certain thoughts to researchers a long time ago. For instance, today we are fully aware of the difference between the Russian, Ukrainian and Belorussian languages. This difference is the result of certain processes including historical events during the last millennium (note – only 1000 years). Moreover, we can easily notice the difference between modern Ukrainian and the language in which documents of the times of hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky were written almost three and a half centuries ago. Not everybody can easily notice the difference between the Ukrainian language of the early 1960s of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. However, this difference can also be noticed if you apply some efforts. So, taking into account the above mentioned, how can we believe that “Trypillians” for more than 3000 years spoke the same language, to say nothing about the fact that this language couldn’t be other than Ukrainian? Nonetheless it’s worth noting that a certain contribution to these, to put it mildly, simplified views about the possibility of continuity of the language (and the culture on the whole) has been made recently by archeologists themselves including the discoverer of the Trypillian culture V. Khvoika. Speaking about his research at the 9th Archeological Convention in Kyiv in August of 1899 he stated that, no doubt, the people to whom the found antiquities had belonged was nothing, but “the branch of the Aryan tribe to which by rights the name of protoslavs belonged…”.

V.V. Khvoika, one of the first researchers of the Trypillian culture. Picture and photographer, the beginning of the 20th century

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Pictures from the researcher’s archives (the beginning of the 20th century) which represent the views of V.V. Khvoika about the appearance and the everyday life of Trypillians

A discussion which aroused after making this report in one of the lecture halls of St. Volodymyr University was just the first in the line of others that followed1. It is understood that it is not easy at all to determine after seven–five thousand years the ethnic background and 1

40

especially to say something about the language of people who left the Trypillian culture. To do this without any inscription (as written language was still in the process of development and the one which existed – pictography – was not intended for the fixation of the sound of the language of its creators). In order to give some grounded answers to the question “who were Trypillians?” it is necessary to combine the data obtained by different sciences – from archeology to molecular biology. I doubt that one separate researcher – either a linguist or an archeologist – will be able to handle it. It’s worth noting, for the sake of justice, that the analysis of printed matter for the last one hundred years suggests that researchers of the Trypillian culture themselves haven’t hastened to express publicly their opinion about the question “who are Trypillians”. Perhaps they were just busy and maybe they understood that this was not a simple task and probably it even had no (at least then) solution. The ancient history of humanity has a few dimensions each of which is accessible for research by a certain science. Among them – archeology, linguistics and… genetics, but even they cannot do it without cooperation. Recently archeologists have obtained rather detailed information about the movement and types of activities of separate groups of people, but in most cases they can’t say what language these people spoke. Linguists can reconstruct ancient languages, but they can’t say for sure where people who spoke these languages lived. At the same time the recording of the history of humanity on the molecular

In December of 2007 the subject of the origin, ethnic background of Trypillians and their language was discussed in the same heated way in a big conference hall of Kyiv Teacher House, i.e. just a few hundred meters from the red building of the University and for the reason of the presentation of the Ukrainian translation of works by V.V. Khvoika dedicated to the research of the Trypillian culture which were published with the name: Дослідження трипільської цивілізації у науковій спадщині археолога Вікентія Хвойки. — К., 2006. — Ч. І — Ч. ІІ (The research of the Trypillian civilization in the scientific heritage of archeologist Vikentiy Khvoika).

Section 3. Peoples and languages “The lands of Trypilliada” Residents of a Trypillian settlement in Dnister area, reconstruction. Watercolor of 1950 s of the 20th century

level of the DNA has much more information than the most credible annals. Thus we can see: all the mentioned above experts were just destined to cooperate. A famous British archeologist Sir Colin Renfrew for many years has been the head of a research institute which carries out researches with the close cooperation of experts from different fields of science. It’s a pity, but there’s no such institute in Ukraine yet. As only on this level of interdisciplinary research, according to a lot of experts who by the request of Sir Renfrew came to participate in the conference held by his Institute, it’s worth looking for the keys to solving lots of secrets of the ancient history of Europe. Here is a short summary of the arguments and facts in the fields of archeology, linguistics and molecular biology which modern science has for now in connection with Trypillians and their ethnic/linguistic background.

What do we know about Trypillians? The data of archeology (and of physical anthropology, too) suggest that first, the population of the Neolithic Age which had preceded Trypillia was rather diverse and heterogeneous – both in terms of culture and composition. Second, there are no grounds to speak about any rather large-scale migration in the land which is now called Ukraine from the north of Anatolia or even the Balkans. These remote regions are not where we should look for the source of the establishment of the Trypillian culture. On the other hand, without the knowledge and technologies of the Asian “fertile crescent” European grain growing would have remained a good but impracticable project. It’s worth noting that the key element here is knowledge and technologies and an inflow of population in this case is not the necessary condition of progress. Quite a lot of ceramic statuettes have survived to this day and the pictures of persons on them have certain portrait features. Perhaps they can give some idea about how residents of Old Europe looked like many thousand years ago. However, I would like to warn against attempts to study the anthropology of ancient epochs solely on the basis of cult sculptures. Since in the sacral field, as it is well known, it is the canon, a rule established once and

forever how and who must be portrayed that played (and still plays) the main role in the formation and artistic reproduction of this or that image of deity. On the other hand the establishment of the Trypillian culture is the result of processes the duration of which amounts not to one dozen and even not to one thousand years, but to more than two millenniums. Of course, these processes could include migration of certain groups of population (from Central Europe, for instance), but there were also not less (or even more) other contacts, exchange of goods (including grain) and important information – for example, what exactly was the depth for sowing grains. In each case the terms of sowing could be determined only on the spot – they were different in the Balkans, in Central Europe and in Prykarpattia. The analysis and comparison of material culture – pottery, statuettes, types and technologies of building dwellings, typical instruments and tools of labor show that the initial “Trypillian population” which had the honor to create all these artifacts could have emerged as a result of interaction of several groups of people of the Neolithic Age. These groups of people, by the way, not very numerous ones (judging by the number of the found ancient settlements which Portraits of residents of Old Europe. Fragments of realistic statuettes of the end of the 6th and the 5th millennium BC, the Balkans

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Vin…a bearers of the Linear Band Pottery culture CriÕ

Tisa

Boian

Early Trypillia-Precucuteni Hamangia

Vessels of archeological cultures of Old Europe the representatives of which, in the opinion of archeologists, could take part in the formation of the archeological complex of the early stage of the Trypillian culture. The second half of the 6th millennium BC

amounted to not more than two dozen and which were small, thus the number of their residents amounted within the limits from a few hundred to one thousand – maximum two thousand people), most likely were at that moment representatives of different cultural and ethnical groups. Now archeologists can define a rather wide outgoing territory with which these groups of people are connected – the so-called the Balkan-Danube-Carpathian region. But the place where the most ancient Trypillian settlements are located occupies a much smaller territory – between the Carpathians, the Prut and the Dnister, approximately on the joint of the present northern borders of Romania, Moldova from one sine and the west of Ukraine from the other one. It seems that representatives of different European tribes by force of some circumstances pulled up their roots and used different ways to cross the Carpathians searching for the new “promised land”. Here they met the scarce population which belonged to the culture of Linear Band Pottery and probably some other “aboriginals”. What could be the reason of the escape of some population from Central Europe? The answer to this question, strange as it may seem, can be obtained lately and

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obtained in a simple way. It is enough to turn on TV at the end of winter or at the beginning of spring to hear in the news program the information about countries which are situated to the west of the Carpathians. In the first place in the news program you will see stories about catastrophic flood, rain, storms, avalanches from mountains, water flows which flooded glens, streets of villages and towns. Narrators will show some experts who will speak in unison about what? That’s right, about the consequences of the global warming. Reconstructions of the climate of the 6th millennium BC show: Europe has already experienced something like that in the epoch which preceded the emergence of the Trypillian culture. And the consequences of the global warming in the 6th millennium BC were not compensated either by the efforts of the European Union or by the humanitarian aid. In those times residents of villages on the Danube or in the foothills of the Carpathians could wait for help from nowhere. The loss of dwellings, reserves of food, cattle and harvests in the fields in those ancient times undoubtedly led to the extinction of whole tribes (and the cultures created by them).

Section 3. Peoples and languages “The lands of Trypilliada”

Trypillia-Cucuteni, two and a half thousand years of the history and cultural diversity. There are a lot of cultures, but there is only one civilization. The dates indicated on the maps are BC

Those who had survived had to start with a clean slate uniting with people with the same bad luck in the fight for life. It is quite possible that the same thing happened to the ancestors of the first Trypillians. A new community was formed in a relatively trouble-free area which was not threatened by fierce natural disasters. At the same time lands and other natural resources were in abundance here and farther to the east for one thousand kilometers and more there was a country which hadn’t been inhabited by grain growers yet. That, the most ancient, community of Trypillians existed for about 600–800 years. It existed till it spread from the Carpathians to the interfluve of the Southern Bug and the Dnieper. In Romania their culture is called Precucuteni, in Ukraine – the early stage of the Trypillian culture or Trypillia A. Taking into account the means and ways of communication of that time in combination with a settled way of life and a constant inflow of population (no wonder, finally it led to economic upturn, “an increase of the GDP” and thus prosperity and flourishing!), this disunity quite logically led to the formation of new groups and cultures. An important factor of cultural genesis in the region was still an inflow of new refugees and travelers across the Carpathians, nobody asked for a permit for living on passes

Dnister area

yet. Thus in 600–800 years, in a wonderful summer (or spring) people with painted pottery appeared in the Trypillian world. These people created a new face of the new culture, Cucuteni. At first the border between “the painted” Trypillians-Cucutenians and the descendants of the first settlers lay along the Dnister, then – somewhere

Middle Dnieper area

Pottery made by Trypillians of different regions: Dnister area and Dnieper area of the second half of the 5th millennium BC might as well be included into two different archeological cultures

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Binocular-like vessels from two regions of Trypillia: the one with an incised ornament comes from the Middle Dnieper, the painted one is made on the Dnister; they demonstrate a union of ceremonial sphere despite a noticeable difference in the material culture. The second half of the 5th millennium BC

Dnister area

the interfluve of the Southern Bug and the Dnieper

the interfluve of the Dnister and the Southern Bug

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along the Southern Bug. In the end in a few hundred years the first Trypillians had only part of Middle Dnieper area – somewhere from the mouth of the Teterev to the north till the Bukrinsky peninsula in the south. However, the “painters” were constantly trying to bite off tasty morsels Middle Dnieper area even from that territory having come to the left bank of the Dnister in the area of present Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi. Nonetheless, from the very beginning at a frontier – either the Dnister, the Southern Bug and then the tributaries of the Dnieper communities were emerging all the time; judging by pottery they consisted of a certain proportion of “the first Trypillians” and “the painters”. Moreover, from time to time this community was penetrated by people with other traditions of making pottery – from Steppe tribes (from the steppe) from the south to representatives of not less civilized neighbors from the west and the north-west. Things came around in such a way that till the end of the 5th millennium BC the Trypillian-Cucuteni world became very heterogeneous (in terms of archeology). So, there are no valid reasons to claim unambiguously that already between 4500–4000 BC the same “Trypillian people” who spoke the same language lived on the territory from the Carpathians to the Dnieper. There is one more proof which suggests that there was no such “general Trypillian” language and cultural unity. This is geography and the time of the appearance of fortified settlements. They started building them in quite considerable amounts exactly at the time of the expansion of painted pottery to the East, and fortifications were built not at a frontier, but in the middle of 100% “Cucuteni” territories of the West. In other words, local tribes waged a fierce struggle for resources. The next “march to the east” quite logically led to… the consolidation of the first Trypillians. Those united and established the first prototowns which have been mentioned above. Their counterparts responded with similar organizational measures. As a result, each created Trypillian group, and in different periods they numbered from 3–4 to 6–9, had its own fortresses, prototowns and thus all “the vertical power structure” which was possible (and necessary) in those ancient times. With the number from 3–5 to 25–35 thousand people in each The difference between anthropomorphous statuettes from different regions of the Trypillian culture, the 4th millennium BC

Section 3. Peoples and languages “The lands of Trypilliada” ried out – from the initial years of 800 to 400. Even if we take the arithmetical mean 600 About 5000 BC years, during the period of the existence of the Trypillian culture the “primordial” linguistic community might have, in general, experienced not less than four divisions! However, there should have been many more “branches” because every “branch” which was separated at the beginning in the next 600 years would have split itself and so on. But there was not only division, but also union of different groups. That’s why it is quite possible that the language of groups described above (with different material culture) could be as “synthetic”. In the end, for two odd milThe image of the Great Goddess, the way through lenniums as a result of similar processes quite a branched millenniums; almost one and tree of “Trypillian languages” might have grown. a half thousand years passed It is understood that it is necessary to between making the first and About 3600 BC admit the participation of all neighbors in the the second statuette process of the formation of this “tree” – not only Trypillians – from steppe tribes to distant relatives from the west and forest tribes from the north. group they were also quite self-sufficient in terms of popAnd linguists will have to work with this model (even if it ulation reproduction. And they understood quite clearly is rather hypothetic) if they ever venture to reconstruct that the increasing population could survive only on conTrypillian languages and don’t ignore opinions and results dition that they defend their territory form their neighbors. of the work of archeologists while doing it. It has been known for long that people are united best of For now a version about how the language of all if they have a common enemy even if this enemy is a Trypillians might look have been presented in the most Trypillian, a relative or a brother. grounded way by Yuriy Mosenkis. His doctoral dissertaAnd this Trypillian doesn’t seem to be a Trypillian at tion which was defended in T. Shevchenko Kyiv National all, but a Cucuteni, and everything is wrong about him: his University in 2002 had the following name: “The probpots are different and he paints “wrong” ornaments, not lems of the reconstruction of the language of Trypillian according to the precepts of the great ancestors, and in cultures”. Please note that the researcher raised the quesaddition he uses quite a different paint. And his language – you just listen how they, there, behind the Southern Bug (or the Dnister, the Prut, the Dnieper – your choice) pronounce our words in a wrong way…

A few words about the Trypillian language Speaking about the language. In 2003 New Zealand scientists R. Grey and C. Atkinson published a statistical model of disintegration of the Proto-IndoEuropean language.We are interested in the most ancient stages which are covered by this model, to be more exact periods between 8700 and 6100 years ago (that is 6700–4100 BC). At that time there was certain rhythmics of the division of language groups of – 800–600–400–400–400. As we can see, for the period of 2600 years an accelerated process of disintegration was car-

The probable scheme of the division and synthesis of the Trypillian language for 2500 years of history: from unity to diversity

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8700 years ago

The Proto-IndoEuropean language

TRYPILLIA about 7300-4600 years ago

Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

The tree of Indo-European languages according to R. Grey and C. Atkinson (2003) and its comparison with the period of the existence of the Trypillian culture

Section 3. Peoples and languages “The lands of Trypilliada” Anthropomorphous statuette. Dnister area, the second half of the 4th millennium BC

tion about the existence of a few “Trypillian cultures”2 which, however, had a common language, in his opinion. The researcher made an attempt of systemic reconstruction of the primary language of the bearers of the Trypillian culture. For this purpose he used a wide range of methods of linguistics including the method of “things and words” developed by him. The main conclusion: the Trypillian language is an ancient (PreIndo-European) component of Slavic languages, the existence of which among other things, distinguishes this language from other Indo-European ones, but makes it closer to the ancient languages of Eastern Mediterranean – from the Balkans to Crete. Taking into consideration the above mentioned the conclusion that the Ukrainian language preserves the heritage of Trypillia in its vocabulary (dozens of words) and also in terms of sounds, a lot of proper names (first of all the names of rivers) looks quite logical. And according to the researcher it is not strange at all because the Ukrainian language is spread on the territory which used to be inhabited by thousands of Trypillians3. It’s worth noting that ideas regarding the linguistic (and cultural) succession of Trypillians and Ukrainians arouse the same grounded criticism on the part of other experts. One of their main arguments is the statement that the Ukrainian language belongs, as it is known, to the IndoEuropean language family and that’s why cannot in any way have roots in the Trypillian one which is claimed to be a non-Indo-European language. Everything here seems to look quite logical, but for two things: the statement puts a sign of equality between the ethnic and linguistic belonging, which is very and very doubtful in all regards, and the 2

3 4

5

Anthropomorphous statuette. Volhynia, the second half of the 4th millennium BC

statement that the language of Trypillians does not belong to the “non-Indo-European” language family is not grounded in a proper way. As in the latter case the argument is focused on the geographical localization of the mysterious “ancestral home” of the speakers of Indo-European languages. The last one is connected with, among other things, the dating of the time of the collapse of “the Pre-Indo-European language”. But the problem is that the most ancient inscriptions in the languages which belonged to this language family had been done a millennium later after this event. It happened approximately in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Sometimes in order to match the data of archeology and linguistics separate researchers singled out a few “ancestral homes”. Promising at the first glance methods of searching for the elusive “ancestral home” led4 to diametrically opposite conclusions. Some researchers placed Pre-Indo-Europeans in the steppes and forest steppes considering them to be cattle-breeders and nomads who straddled horses, travelled on carts and attacked their peaceful neighbors-grain growers. Other researchers described their homeland as a mountain country with forests the residents of which led a settled life of grain growers, extracted and worked metal. There was also an opinion that Pre-Indo-Europeans had had little to do with such achievements as cattlebreeding and grain growing, to say nothing about metallurgy and the wheel. It is not difficult to understand why after reading a big number of similar scientific works it is difficult in the first place to believe in the real existence of not only the ancestral home, but also the mysterious and elusive “Pre-Indo-Europeans” themselves. The idea of “the steppe ancestral home” is very popular in Ukraine5. You should think so – we have lots of steppes – all the south till the shores of the Black sea and

Мосенкіс Ю.Л. Проблема реконструкції мови трипільської культури: Автореф. дис. … дLра філол. наук. — К., 2002. — 23 с. (Mosenkis Yu.L. The problem of the reconstruction of the language of Trypillian cultures: Abstract of dissertation

… Doctor of Letters). Mosenkis Yu.L. Ukraine and the initial appearance of languages // http://ideya.uazone.net/pervisn.html Comparing the so-called basic vocabulary with ecology, material and spiritual culture these methods theoretically make it possible to compare the views about the surrounding environment, the culture of speakers of a certain language. You can find more details about this question in the work: Павленко Ю. В. Праславяне и арии. — К., Феникс, 2000. — С. 119—124 (Pavlenko Yu.V. Protoslavs and aria); Павленко Ю. Етномовна ідентичність носіїв трипільської культури// Трипільська цивілізація у спадщині України. — К., Просвіта, 2003. — С. 128—132 (Pavlenko Yu. Ethnic-linguistic identity of the bearers of the Trypillian culture// Trypillian civilization in the heritage of Ukraine); Залізняк Л. Передісторія України X— V тис. до н.е. — К., 1998. — С. 253—265 (Zaliznyak L. Prehistory of Ukraine of the 10th –the 5th millennium BC); Отрощенко

В. В. Індоєвропейська проблема в контексті енеоліту України //Етнічна історія давньої України. — К. 2000 — С.26—31 (Otroshchenko V.V. The Indo-European problem in the context of the Eneolithic Age of Ukraine // The ethnic history of ancient Ukraine); Рассамакін Ю. Я. Енеоліт України та індоєвропейська проблема //Давня історія України. — К.: Наукова думка. — Т.1. — С. 301—309 (Rassamakin Yu.Ya. The Eneolithic Age of Ukraine and the Indo-European problem //Ancient his-

tory of Ukraine).

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Trypillian portraits from the interfluve of the Southern Bug and the Dnieper, the 4th millennium BC

the Sea of Azov and also the biggest part of the Crimea in addition! And in those steppes there are dozens of thousands of burial mounds, the most ancient of which appeared in the epoch which is very close to the time of these PreIndo-Europeans. In addition, there are appropriate archeological finds and colleagues from the West were very favorable to the importance of the role of “kurgan peoples” in this question for long. They were because for the last decade “the kurgan theory” as a result of a few discoveries and also a more careful study of finds which have been discovered before has started to lose its numerous supporters. In “Indo-European fundamentals” ascertained with the help of “linguistic paleontology” besides others there is a very weak side: the dating of these very “fundamentals”.

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Using statistical methods for this dating linguists depend on mathematical formula and coefficients developed by themselves with all the consequences which are caused by them. To tell the truth, the appearance of computers made it possible to model the most impossible situations in an unprecedented amount which was not possible before. The mentioned before R. Grey and C. Atkinson for whom a computer program had gone over about ten million (!) models and determined the most probable one dated this mysterious time of the collapse of the proto-language of Pre-IndoEuropeans as about 8700 years ago. I can say that this date unveiled a lasting myth about “the steppe ancestral home” to a certain extent, but at the same time confirmed the hypothesis about the participation of grain growers of the Balkans and then immediately after them Trypillians in “the process of IndoEuropeization”. Besides, the existence of other steppe “Indo-Europeans” also remained quite possible. Reconstructions which are based on the new date, in our opinion, are also more viable because they take into account the processes of interaction of different groups of the ancient population of Europe.

In search of the Trypillian genealogy It’s worth noting that the third arbiter in the dispute about the origin of ancient peoples – molecular biology seems to support it, too. Information about the genetic structure of populations is presented in the form of certain groups-clusters which are marked with Latin letters. Having prepared a map of the expansion of these groups or their combinations, we can trace the origin of present groups of the population and also their genealogy, i.e. the

Section 3. Peoples and languages “The lands of Trypilliada”

Genetic diversity of Europe (according to the data of the study of the Y chromosome). Purple and green colors belong to representatives of the most ancient (from the Lithic Age) population of Europe. Red is typical for the region where grain growing in the Far East was invented (according to Semino et al, 2000). Not numerous data of genetic researches about Trypillians make it possible now to connect them (on the basis of the mother right) to a greater extent with “purple” and to a smaller extent with “red”

connection with these or those ancestors6. Not much has been done regarding the study of this structure connected with prehistoric times, but they are also worth out attention. It has been determined before that groups H and V are characteristic, to be more exact the most widespread, for 6

Europe from the times of the ancient Stone Age (the Lithic Age). Groups T and J are characteristic of Anatolia, the ancestral home of grain growing. If a large-scale migration of grain growers from the overpopulated “ancestral home” had occurred (as it is claimed by the domestic supporters of

This question has been covered in numerous publications, at many conferences with the participation of geneticists and archeologists: Cavalli-Sforza L., Menozzi P., Piazza A. 1994. The History and Geography of Human Genes. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. – 518 p.; Richards M., Macaulay V., Torroni A., and Bandelt, H.-J. 2002. In Search of Geographical Patterns in European Mitochondrial DNA//The American Journal of Human Genetics, 71. – P. 1168–1174; Archaeogenetics: DNA and the population prehistory of Europe. – Ed. by Colin Renfrew and Katie Boyle. – The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge, 2000. – 342 p.; Sokal R.R., Oden N.L., Wilson C. (1991). Genetics evidence for the spread of agriculture in Europe by demic diffusion. Nature 351: 143–145. Barbujani G., Bertorelle G. Genetics and the population history of Europe//Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2001. No. 98. – P. 22–25.

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Cucuteni-Trypillian portrait gallery from the territory of Romania and Moldova, the 5th–the 4th millennium BC

Stepoviks-Indo-Europeans), then there would have been T and J in Europe and on the Trypillian territory in ancient times. Indeed, after the analysis of a few dozen skeletons of the bearers of the culture of Linear Band Pottery (LBP) the researcher determined: 25% – T and J, another 25% N1A (a rather rare group), but 29.2% (i.e. one third) belonged to the European “aboriginals” – H and V7. In any case the trace of migrants from Anatolia was rather clear. Taking into account the fact that bearers of the LBP are considered to be the ancestors of Trypillians by many scientists, it would have been logical to reveal rather numerous groups T and J. However, in the materials from Verteba cave which are dated between 3500–2800 BC T was determined only in one case and the rest of the samples were H8, i.e. aboriginals. Thus the Trypillian population of this area of the Ternopil region of the second half of the 4th – the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC was mainly represented by not the genetic heirs of the LBP, but mainly by the heirs of European hunters for mammoths and north deer! It’s worth noting that it didn’t prevent them from being rightful heirs and bearers of the cultural traditions and technologies which had appeared rather far from the Carpathians and the Dnister. The research has just been started and it is quite possible that genetic heritage of the bearers of the LBP will also be determined in greater

7

8

numbers among earlier samples, but the tendency suggests certain thoughts. The most interesting thing is that group H (to be more exact its type) still prevails on the territory of Ukraine, both in the west and in the east. It appears that no matter which “ancestral home” researchers assume, either the eastern or the western one, both of them will relate to the entire Land! This, by the way, makes its territory one of the key ones for the reconstruction of the ancient history of Europe. And one more thing. The results of the study of the DNA show that the prehistoric ancestors of modern Ukrainians lived in this land many millenniums before the appearance of Trypillians and also a lot of millenniums after the disappearance of the Trypillian civilization. Part of these ancestors belonged to different Trypillian tribes. Languages, cultures, political structures, borders changed – and people lived their life. In any case, the history of a people is not just a result of an ordinary change of generations. I think that at the end it would be good to cite the words of a famous Ukrainian archeologist, ethnographer, philosopher and literary man V.P. Petrov which he said at a lecture for the students of Ukrainian Free University in Munich in 1949 about the fact that it’s worth always keeping in mind: between modern Ukrainians and the population of the Neolithic Age (he meant Trypillians) there are a few epochs through which our ancestors lived, a few stages of ethnic deformations, phases of development after which the Ukrainian people became as we know it now9...

The results of the study of the genes of the bearers of the culture of Linear Band Pottery are given in the article: Haak W., Forster P., Bramanti B. et al. 2005. Ancient DNA from the First European Farmers in 7500-Year-Old Neolithic Sites//Science 310. – P. 1016–1018. The results of the research were published in: Сохацький М., Нікітін О., Ковалюх М., Відейко М. Перші дослідження ДНК

за антропологічними матеріалами трипільської культури із печери Вертеба //Трипільська культура. Пошуки, відкриття, світовий контекст. — К., 2007. — Табл. 1. (Sokhatsky M., Nikitin O., Kovalyukh M., Videiko M. The first studies of 9

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the DNA basing on the anthropological materials of the Trypillian culture from Verteba cave //Trypillian culture. Searches, discoveries, world context). Петров В. Походження українського народу. — К., 1992. — С. 26. (Petrov V. The origin of the Ukrainian people).

Section 4

Not by Trypillia alone

ometimes it seems that besides Trypillians in the Copper Age on the territory of Ukraine there was nothing which is worth the attention of descendants. However, if “The land of Trypilliada” itself was sometimes rather varicolored and diverse, then the world which existed around it was as diverse. Sometimes these worlds crossed each other, interacted, but most often they existed in a parallel way.

S

To the east and to the south of Trypilliada

is rather small, all in all about two hundred. Almost ten times as little as compared to the data connected with the Trypillian culture (more than 2,300 locations). This statistics reflects the circumstance that the population in the steppe was much smaller than in the forest and forest-steppe zones, i.e. ecological niches which the practical Trypillians liked. Besides, the areas which were suitable for grain growing and cattle-breeding in river valleys can’t be compared with plateaus and interfluves in any way.

I don’t know why, but in scientific literature it is agreed to call residents of the east and south of the Land of those times as “Stepoviks” – meaning Steppe People (or steppe tribes). Everything seems to be logical – the biggest part of these territories is really occupied by steppes. However, the life in the open steppe five–seven millenniums ago was more than risky. And what about “nomadic cattle-breeding”? It’s worth noting that nomadism, taking into account the available materials of excavations, is an invention which was made only approximately on the border of the 4th–the 3rd millenniums BC (you can find more details about it in the next section). Nonetheless, somehow people lived (and lived successfully) in the steppe from the times of the Stone Age. They preferred to settle down near water, next to some forest, i.e. mainly in the valleys of big (or rather big) rivers. This is where the first settlements and the accompanying burial grounds of the Copper Age were found. The number of such finds for one hundred years of researches Trypillia and its neighbors in the 5th–4th millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Pottery and statuettes made by the southern neighbors of Trypillians from the valley of the Dnieper. The 4th millennium BC

It happed that at first researchers had united almost all steppe finds in the Serednyi Stig archeological culture. Later it was understood that it is reasonable to separate certain territories which are more modest but have distinctive cultures from this “Steppe Empire”. Now they write more often about “the Serednyi Stig community” and the number and the list of cultures separated from it are in the process of development and are improved all the time. Thus for the last 20 years Suvorove, Novodanylivka, Stohivka, Dereivka, Kvytyana and other cultures have appeared and some of these cultures even go beyond the borders of Ukraine to the west and to the east. Anthropologists who studied skeletons from ancient burials in the steppe made a conclusion that people who had lived there were quite diverse – from massive, tall protocaucasoids to stunted, thin-boned Mediterraneans. Also the process of miscegenation of the population is clearly traced there. This conclusion completely corresponds to that diversity of ancient cultures which is reconstructed by archeologists.

the Neolithic Age. They had a full range of agricultural implements – working parts of pick axes made of deer horn, insertions for sickles made of flint were found. It’s worth noting that some insertions resemble Trypillian ones very much. However, they are not import, but probably imitation of the best models of these labor instruments. The range of cereals which they grew was similar to the Trypillian one – the same glumaceous wheat, barley. But millet, a culture which is typical of nomads, was not found. So, just like Trypillians , during the biggest part of the year steppe tribes ate various cooked cereals and went fishing and hunting taking with them bread that didn’t get stale for long. Flood plain meadows sometimes even now remain good pastures. To tell the truth, most of them are now located on the Dnieper and other big rivers or flooded by water of “hand-made” seas – reservoirs or there are buildings of residential communities of modern megalopolises there. But in 1960s of the 20th century on the Dnieper in the area of Kanev local residents when there was no grass on the right bank, took cows to pasture to the left bank by ferry. Sometimes they could drive cattle to pasture using fords. So, steppe tribes had wonderful resources for cattle-breeding, to say nothing about hunting and fishing. This was the reason why their most prosperous settlements – like well-known Dereivka – were situated in such places. As for herds, judging by the skeletons of animals in the settlement, cattle prevailed, i.e. cows and bulls. There were also sheep and pigs. I would like to draw special attention to the fact that they had domestic horses. For some time scientists even were sure that horses had been domesticated by the residents of the steppes of Ukraine in the Copper Age! However, it was determined that the palm of victory was carried by other residents of the Land who had lived two or one millennium before. The mentioned above Dereivka is famous with the finds of a big number of horse bones. It is understood that residents of such settlements tried to use all the local resources to the full extent: they successfully went fishing, especially in

Peculiarities of the “steppe” economy Residents of river valleys, judging by the remains of their meals which were found during excavations, knew how to grow grain and to breed cattle already in

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Points of darts, flint. Great weapon for war and hunting. Sea of Azov area, the 5th millennium BC

Section 4. Not by Trypillia alone

Fragments of the “steppe” pottery which were found on one of the Dnieper islands, the 5th millennium BC

the Dnieper and in the Southern Bug. A lot of stands were found here, in the area of rapids where they caught fish which were going for spawning, simple and nice – fish were falling into their hands themselves. Game which came to drinking places became prey to agile hunters: deer, roes and even wild boars, to say nothing about smaller fauna like otters, beavers and foxes the fur of which was used to decorate clothes and teeth were used for different adornments and amulets. The life and the way of life of steppe tribes, taking into account the extreme conditions of living, were inferior to the level of Trypillians in terms of prosperity. Their rather small dwellings were more modest; they were usually a little deepened in the ground, faced with masonry or with small clay hearths. Their household utensils were also simpler and unvaried – rather rough molded pots decorated with embossed ornaments, seldom there were bowls. Nonetheless during excavations they also found frag-

ments of splendid products of Trypillian potters – painted vessels. It is easy to distinguish them among monotonous dark brown or yellow fragments of the products of the local production. There were no traces of weaving, but quite a lot of flint scrapers were found. However, they might as well Products of flint from the settlements of Dnieper area, the 5th millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A copper bracelet which was found in the place of Mykilska Slobidka (now the territory of the city of Kyiv), the 5th millennium BC

Copper products made by steppe craftsmen, the 5th millennium BC

barter fabric from Trypillians – most often the distance between settlements of different cultures in Dnieper area amounted to only a few dozen kilometers.

The owners of “high technologies” But not all residents of river valleys were engaged solely in growing grain, hunting, fishing or pasturing cattle. Among them there were also skilled craftsmen who mastered the most advanced technologies of the Copper Age, to be more precise metalwork and making perfect products of flint. It is understood that they also had to spend most of their time procuring food because their product market was rather small. Studying the technology of making copper products – bracelets, rings and other things which were found in burial places on both sides of the Dnieper, modern researchers determined a strange fact: it is different from the one which was used by neighbors-Trypillians. And though the sources of some local know-how were found Products made by steppe smiths. Dnieper area, the 5th millennium BC. This hammer, according to the data received after its study, was rather a symbol of power than an instrument or a weapon. It could break with the first blow

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in the Balkans (!), but the new center of metalwork received its own name – “Novodanylivka” named after the burial ground where a great number of copper products had been found. Nonetheless, other finds, peculiarities of rites and also anthropology of the buried (especially males) suggest quite clearly a connection with the most prosperous “copper” cultures of the Northern Balkan Peninsula. If we take into account the dating of the Novodanylivka burial ground to the time approximately the 5th millennium BC, then it appears that it was almost of the same age as the Varna Necropolis on the territory of modern Bulgaria which is famous for its gold treasures. However, in a burial place excavated on the territory of the city of Kryvyi Rih a tube made of gold was found. It

Points of darts and flat axes made of flint – masterpieces created by the steppe population of the 5th millennium BC

Section 4. Not by Trypillia alone is claimed to be part of a scepter. And this is also a clear “Balkan trace”. Steppe tribes achieved perfection in making some products of flint. They surely had plenty of raw materials on their territory. The Donetsk flint was not inferior to the Volhynia one or the Dnister one. In any case, the well-known flint “big plates” were first made in the East and not in the West. Even technologically “advanced” Trypillians mastered this technology almost A point of a dart from the Southern Bug. 500 years later. But The 5th millennium BC the real masterpieces of the steppe flint work were points of darts and flat axes. These were perfect products of an elongate subtriangular form. It was impossible to make them without the use of copper tools for retouching. A considerable number of such triangles of flint were found near the city of Izyum. In the funds of the Institute of Archeology there is the so-called “Honcharivka” (or Sybilyov, named after a researcher) treasure. The treasure included 168 big plates

and also 6 work pieces-cores. Perhaps the fashion for “prestigious” plates was also spread among Stepoviks. The treasure also included seven points for darts and 12 axes. Trypillians liked elongate points of a triangular form so much that they started producing them without any delay and added them to their armory.

Near the sources of the mound “architecture” Another interesting thing about the residents of the steppe is that they left quite a lot of (if compared to Trypillians) burial places. Studying them sometimes archeologists received much more information about the life, the social structure, connections and “the foreign policy” of these tribes than during excavations of settlements. When in the South of Ukraine they started large-scale excavations of burial mounds, archeologists started finding burial places which were obviously much older than the burial places of the early Bronze Age. Moreover, sometimes they differed both in the complexity of the rite and in the scale of the burial facilities and gifts. In this respect, the burial from mound №1 is the most well-known; it was excavated in the village of Suvorove of the Odessa region. Its earth fill was about 4.5 m high and its diameter reached 75 m. It was determined that such a large earth fill had been built by a few stages after the next burial. The archeologists managed to determine

Fragments of burial places of the residents of the steppe: standard funeral gifts – the remains of a decorated belt and big flint plates. The 5th millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes of scepters” is dated approximately within the limits of the second half of the 5th millennium. There are interesting works in which the time of the appearance and the territory of the expansion of horse head scepters were analyzed and also attempts were made to determine their purpose and history. The fact that part of scepters had been found during excavations or in the settlement lands of the cultures of Trypillia and Cucuten, was interpreted in a different way. Some scientists claimed (with grounds) that it was Trypillians-Cucutenis Nacreous adornments of a belt which belonged to the female who made these scepters because they had (unlike partner of the owner of a horse head scepter from a burial Stepoviks) technologies of stone working. Other place in the Suvorove burial mound. th experts proved that scepters were signs of power of The 5 millennium BC military chiefs who led their fellow countrymen in military campaigns against neighbors-grain growers. The fact that most scepters were found in the settlefrom what the building of this “family grave” had begun. ments of grain growers is, in their opinion, the evidence of Having removed the earth fill of the mound till the very ancient wars. As the signs of power of conquerors in foundation, in its western sector they cleaned a circle ancient times (and not only then) often became items of which had been destroyed already in those ancient times; archeology far from the historical homeland of military this circle was made of big stones – cromlech. In its cenleaders. ter they found the first and the most ancient burial place of By the way, the most western place where a horse that site which, to tell the truth, received the ordinal numhead scepter (in a burial place) was found is situated ber 7. As before researchers reached it, they had to excabeyond the Carpathians, near Transylvania. This is the vate six more graves. burial ground of Decha-Mureshului and the scepter is First after cleaning the surface a spot of a hole made of the local raw materials. So, this product appeared appeared in front of them. It resembled a trapezium with in a burial place approximately where it had been made. long sides to the East and the West. The depth of the grave It’s worth paying attention to the diversity of the amounted to only 40 cm from the ancient surface. At the positions of the buried – even in the Suvorove burial bottom of the hole they cleaned the burial of two persons – mound a man and a woman lay in the grave in a different a man and a woman who were covered, just like the botway. Often such a difference in the position, inventory, tom of the burial hole, with a layer of red paint – ocher. orientation and the form of a grave and in its decoration The woman’s skeleton lay on the right side with her legs (with different bedding, covering with ochre, etc.) are bent. She had a splendid belt which had been decorated interpreted as the diversity of funeral customs of different with adornments in the form of sewed nacreous washers tribes who live in the steppe. with drilled holes in the center. The man’s skeleton lay on A certain amount of pottery made by Trypillians was the back; his arms were stretched along the body. On his found in burial places. Perhaps these beautiful, prestigious hipbones there was a product of stone which is still the things were put in a grave of prosperous residents of the subject of heated discussions. An ancient craftsman used dark-grey porphyrite to make a stylized image of the head of an animal with the length of about 17 cm. Most researchers think that this is a horse head. Since the rear side of the product was intended to be tied to a handle, this product received the name “scepter”. The full name of such products which can be found in works of scientists dedicated to the history of that time – “horse head scepter”. It’s worth noting that some scientists are disposed to see quite different animals in these images, for example, a wild boar. “The age A horse head scepter from a burial place in the Suvorove burial mound — the symbol of power of a military leader. The 5th millennium BC

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Section 4. Not by Trypillia alone steppe – just like one millennium later Scythian chiefs would go to the other world with a whole set of painted Greek pottery. And maybe these are gifts to Trypillians who passed to their eternal rest (by force of some circumstances) in the steppe world? In any case, it is known that nomadic peoples had a very old custom when the right of property for this or that territory was marked with the help of burial places, family cemeteries. Usually they are situated in some places along the route of seasonal nutrition, but burial grounds of the Copper Age don’t seem to correspond to this rule.

A fragment of a ceramic amulet. The culture BolgradAldeni (GumelniÛa). The 5th millennium BC

Agricultural oasis near estuaries It’s worth remembering that ancient grain growers also tried to settle down in the steppe area. On the territory of the Odessa region a few dozen settlements are already known: they appeared near the middle of the 5th millennium BC and were situated mainly over estuaries, not far from the seashore. I can say that these settlements are contemporaries of the above mentioned Suvorove burial mound. These grain growers came here from the West, from beyond the Danube. Their culture resembles antiqui-

ties which belonged to the community with a long name: GumelniÛa-Kodjadermen-Karanovo VI, the settlements and burial grounds of which are now known on the territory of such countries as Romania and Bulgaria. This community the roots of which go back to the Neolithic Age of the Balkans and neighboring Anatolia belonged to the same civilization of Old Europe as Trypillia. Only unlike Trypillians who at the beginning of their history mainly represented “a collection of European refugees”, the residents of the South resettled with big groups which preserved the culture of their Balkan ancestral home almost in an unchanged form. This culture gave rise to the tradition of building rather big ground wattle and daub dwellings with attics; beautiful pottery including painted one, expressive statuettes of women are characteristic of it. In the ancestral home GumelniÛa settlements were small, but near seashore estuaries they sometimes grew to considerable sizes. Grain growing and cattle-breeding remained the main types of activities of the residents of these settlements. But the composition of a herd changed. The most noticeable novelty was the appearance of a domestic horse, to be more precise, so many horses that their number exceeded these indices of some neighbors-Stepoviks. So, it’s the representatives of the culture GumelniÛa (according to the statistics of the found horse bones during excavations) that may as well be considered “the main horse breeders” of the steppe zone in the 5th millennium BC. Most probably they borrowed this domestic animal from their neighbors. So, the exchange was reciprocal. Do you remember the story about the steppe, Novodanylivka hearth of metalwork? It’s quite possible that Novodanylivka smiths were taught and trained in the settlements of the culture GumelniÛa (Bolgrad-Aldeni as its type spread in the Odessa region is called).

Things made by ancient grain growers from the steppe strip – bearers of the culture Bolgrad-Aldeni (GumelniÛa). The 5th millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Half an anthropomorphous statuette. The culture Bolgrad-Aldeni ( GumelniÛa). The 5th millennium BC

However, a successfully started GumelniÛa experiment connected with the cultivation of steppes was ceased just a few hundred years later. Some researchers are disposed to think that the reason for this event was connected with increasing aggression of steppe tribes; other researchers think that this reason is connected with an ecological crisis which harmed grain growing in the steppes over estuaries at once. In any case, new settlers from beyond the Danube will establish their new settlements here (the excavation of their traces were started by Odessa archeologists) only in one thousand odd years.

The Western relatives of Trypillians In this case by the western relatives we mean not Cucutenis on the territory of Romania, but representatives of a number of archeological cultures both connected and neighboring with the civilization of Old Europe. These neighbors rather successfully inhabited part of the territory of the Land in Volhynia. Here, along the northern border of the settlements of Trypillians almost always there was a narrow strip in which these people were not very interested. These lands were not so fertile as the southern ones, besides they were in the zone of broad-leaved forests, to say nothing about the forest-steppe. Only the extraction of strategic raw materials – flint or copper could attract Trypillians to the North under certain circumstances. It’s quite possible that the same mineral deposits were desired possessions of other tribes which moved from the West. Although they were not so numerous, however, (and probably the most important thing) they already got used to growing cereals on forest soils which were also spread here. Probably Trypillians would just reject these fields as defective. First the Western Bug was crossed by the bearers of the culture Malytsya who were followed a few hundred years later by the tribes of the VolhyniaLublin (or Lublin-Volhynia) painted pottery. A few dozen their settle-

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ments and burial places are already known. Recently they even found the whole burial ground not far from Ostroh. The settlements of migrants, just like in their ancestral home, were small, situated near water and sometimes on rather high capes which were suitable for defense. Their residents could also build fortifications in the form of ditches and ramparts. The residents left expressionless foundation pits, holes from posts and traces of fire. It seems that these dwellings were rather modest in terms of the interior and the size. The Volhynia flint was used for making tools which were necessary for life, work and weapons for hunting and war. Scientists are still arguing whether the VolhyniaLublin residents had adopted the methods of working flint with the help of copper instruments from Trypillians or had come to this idea themselves. Nonetheless, they did it in a professional way. The same can be said about working with metal. We know not only about small adornments in the form of temporal rings or bracelets, but also quite impressive cast axes, picks and even daggers. The vicinity of Trypillians left traces in the settlements of both tribes in the form of fragments of pottery. Archeologists often call these finds “imports” but it is unlikely that Trypillians acquired or exchanged pots and bowls which were rather miserable as compared to masterpieces of their local pottery art. Most likely representatives of the neighbors appeared in Trypillian settlements and they lived there for some time using or making their usual pottery. When the next newcomers crossed the Western Bug approximately in 3600 BC and pressed the residents of Volhynia-Lublin, the latter moved farther to the West, to Middle Dnieper area. But this area had already been partly inhabited by Trypillians about 800 years before. However, probably, distant relatives managed to come to an agreement somehow

Reconstruction of an axe of the Funnel Beaker culture. A typical product with a double purpose – for peaceful work and for war

Section 4. Not by Trypillia alone Battle hammer-axes of the Funnel Beaker culture from a museum collection

culture jointly occupied an extensive territory in Europe which was much bigger than the Trypillian territory! Its western border reached the Atlantic Ocean, the northern one reached Scandinavia and the eastern outlying districts were situated somewhere in the Rivne region in Ukraine in the middle of the 4th millennium BC. This was quite a distinctive civilization of the northern part of Europe which greatly differed from “the Balkan standards” by which Old Europe including Trypillia was guided. Bearers of the Funnel Beaker culture were rather numerous and I can say that they were quite bellicose. They made splendid battle hammer-axes of stone. Probably this weapon was an embodiment of the god of war. They think that small models of axes which were found during excavations are connected with its cult. There are finds like that even on the territory of some Trypillian settlements. Trypillians’ new neighbors cultivated their fields already with the help of a primitive but rather effective wooden plough. Its traces were found during researches in ancient plowed fields blocked by buildings which are called megaliths. Megaliths are sepulchers and sanctuaries of huge sizes built of stone, mostly boulders, which have been brought by a glacier to the fields of Northern Europe before. Where builders of megaliths lacked stones, they used trunks of trees. The interesting thing is that con-

and a wonderful symbiosis of cultures appeared on the Dnieper; a set of pottery was its most vivid feature. Together with pre-Trypillian pottery which was covered with deepened ornaments and painted there were products without ornaments at all with a characteristic glazed surface. But everything was not limited only to pottery. New settlements appeared even on new northern territory which hadn’t been inhabited by Trypillians before – almost till the mouth of the Teteriv, on forest soils. Trypillians hadn’t paid attention to such lands before at all. Moreover, it was when the developing of the left-bank Dnieper began (again mostly on pieces of forest soils). Settlements with a mixed culture of Trypillians and their western relatives are now also known in Brovary and PereyaslavKhmelnytskyy areas of the Kyiv region. Strange as it may seem, but relicts of the Malytsya and VolhyniaLublin pottery existed on the Dnieper for almost four hundred more years after they disappeared in Volhynia! Who replaced the residents of Volhynia-Lublin on the borA ceramic model of battle axes (magnified) ders of Trypillia? Reprewhich were made by Trypillians by means of sentative of the Funnel adopting the traditions of their neighbors – Beaker culture (FBC) mothe bearers of the Funnel Beaker culture. The end of the 5th millennium BC ved here. At that time this

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Vessels of the Funnel Beaker culture at a museum exposition. The end of the 4th millennium BC

struction materials were brought with the help of carts. The traces of wheels and even a corduroy road across the swamp to the construction site were found on the territory of a few European countries. You can’t help noticing one interesting parallel between Trypillia and bearers of the Funnel Beaker culture. Just like Trypillians who put their work and resources into the construction of protocities which were burnt from time to time according to a rite, their western neighbors applied best efforts to collect more and more stones for the construction of megaliths which were useless in a utilitarian point of view. But both protocities and megaliths were symbols of power and prosperity, a measure of prestige of a cer-

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tain clan, chiefdom. What expediency can we speak about if we are talking about prestige of a tribe? So, Trypillians received quite a powerful and restless neighbor. It is difficult to say what could happen if representatives of such different civilizations lived next to each other for long. Perhaps just like in Ancient Egypt there would be a union of the two halves of Europe under the scepter of a great king the subjects of whom fed with cooked cereal prepared from wheat grown by Trypillians would start to build super megaliths which exceeded the pyramids of Giza? But the situation in Europe changed so much at the end of the 4th millennium BC that we can have only assumptions about it now.

Section 5

The twilight of Old Europe

ll civilizations sooner or later are relegated to oblivion and become part of history forever. It happens in a different way, but most often this process in ancient times is described as an invasion of cruel barbarians whose hordes burn, reduce to dust and ashes flourishing oases and towns. It is understood that there are views like that concerning the epoch when the civilization of Old Europe disappears. Bellicose nomads from the Black Sea steppes are considered to be these aggressors by some scientists. However, these terrors, as it turned out, hardly have anything to do with what happened really. Thanks to researches which were conducted by representatives of different sciences – from paleogeographers to archeologists, an overall picture about the events which occurred on the continent more than forty five centuries ago was obtained.

A

Rehabilitation of “Steppe tribes” The data which archeologists received about the population of the steppe world of that epoch eventually led to the rehabilitation of nomads, hunters and fishermen from the valleys of big rivers. Neither their quantity nor their weapons allow considering them to be the possible destructors of the flourishing world of grain growers. For instance, in order to attempt to conquer a Trypillian settlement-prototown like Maidanetske, the prehistoric prototype of Genghis Khan would have to summon steppe tribes for a march from the Volga to the Danube. And he wouldn’t surely be able to do successfully both the former and the latter. When with the help of the isotopic method they dated the skull of a stallion which had been considered to be a battle horse of the age of the Serednyi Stih culture (the 5th–the 4th millennium BC) for long, it was determined that though it was really a battle horse, but truly it belonged to… Scythians (or to other neighbors) who had lived on this territory in the Iron Age. In addition, it would be impossible to drive a battle horse in the age of the Serednyi Stih culture with those weapons which the most ancient residents of steppes could afford. Thus the main “military trump”, the invincible cavalry of nomads, turned out to be rather a phantom, a ghost which was strengthened by the facts of the early Iron Age Fortifications built by Trypillians on the edge of Lysa Hora in Zhvanets. The general view and also the side view of the rampart and the ditch which was made during excavations. This fortress situated in Dnister area, in the middle of the Trypillian world, was supposed to protect its owners first of all from neighbors-Trypillians

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes less, they gradually mastered the most accessible and useful achievements – farming, cattle-breeding, some of crafts (first of all – in the field of military technologies) and magic. However, there is a possibility that the crisis was caused not by paying tribute to ancient traditions and excessive (or indiscreet) ardor for magic or beer, but by the circumstances and forces of which the residents of prosperous Old Europe were completely unaware. Even today the mentioned above forces and consequences of their actions can create serious problems which even at the beginning of the third millennium AC can cause a lot of trouble for the humanity.

Civilization and global cooling Nowadays the civilized world applies great effort (and spends considerable resources) in order to survive global warming. However, in the ancient history climatic changes of other nature – cooling, occurred more than once or twice. The findings of archeological excavations suggest that approximately in the second half of the fourth millennium the economic mechanism of Trypillia adjusted a long time ago began malfunctioning. A bad harvest will not result in anything good even today. However, now if you even have no money, you can get a loan and buy food-

The last centuries of the Trypillian world: local variants and cultural types of the end of the 4th – the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC

or the age of the great migration of peoples in researchers’ imagination. In those really horrible times, when horse hordes of Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Avars and their followers (till Mongolians inclusive) many times destroyed and robbed the wealthy and civilized, but sometimes helpless Europe as regards their brutal force reaching sometimes not only the central areas of the continent, but also penetrating to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. A little more different, but also dramatic scenario of the twilight and the decay of the civilization of Old Europe is more likely. It is quite possible that uniqueness and a high (for that time) economic potential in combination with the absence of serious foreign competition played a low-down trick with the ancient peoples of the continent. Further development stopped, the observance of the traditional order consecrated by certain ideological guidelines became the main task. Trypillians’ prototowns never became towns or states, besides neither real nor sacral written language appeared here. The Western outskirts of Old Europe withdrew into itself with narcissism without paying attention to anything (or almost anything) in the surrounding world. The world which seemed to have fallen behind in its development desperately. Trypillians drank beer in the same quiet way watching herds in pastures in a wide flood plain of the Dnieper (the Dnister, the Southern Bug, the Prut…), waiting for the next caravan with Volhynia flint or copper products or salt from the foothills of the Carpathians. They were not interested in the lands hidden behind the horizon, they didn’t care about those who lived there. Trypillians’ neighbors didn’t have many chances to integrate into such a prosperous community, but nonethe-

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The change of the climate in the sixth–the third millennium BC and the Trypillian culture

before

3199—3150 BC

Section 5. The twilight of Old Europe

after

Vessels made by Trypillians who lived in Middle Dnieper area before and after the events of 3199—3150 BC

100% successful (you can’t expect that even now), but perhaps thanks to them the Trypillian world existed for another 500–600 years. In the interfluve of the Southern Bug and the Dnieper prototowns existed for another half a millennium or maybe even more – the latest of them is dated to about 2750 BC. Perhaps complexity and power of the social organization worked here, reserves of food for “the

stuff somewhere abroad. Five thousand years ago they didn’t give any loans and you could buy wheat nowhere. And it’s worth noting that nobody was in a hurry to the areas which suffered from natural disasters to deliver humanitarian aid in order to save the starving ones. So, the thunderbolt from a clear sky over prosperous Old Europe came approximately between 3199–3150 BC. The echo of this event was reflected in fossil ice of Greenland and river circles of tree trunks which were extracted from peat bogs for research. The studies showed abnormal content of methane in the atmosphere of the planet of that period. And also evidence of the fact that only half a century later two enormous volcanic eruptions took place in the Northern hemisphere. As a result of this the sky over the fields of Europe (and not only Europe!) was covered with clouds of volcanic dust which blocked the access of sunbeams to the surface of the earth. It is understood that less sunbeams result in less heat. Acid rains became one more unpleasant event. In combination with cooling such “irrigation” inevitably led to a number of lean years. The number of such evil years between 3199 and 3150 must have been abnormal. It is not very difficult to imagine the results of bad grain harvests for Old Europe – first hunger, then – wars for the remains of foodstuff. Half a century of such ordeals could be enough so that a civilization which had been developing successfully for many millenniums decayed under such conditions.

“Anti-crisis programs” of Trypillians If you have a closer look at the diversity of variants of the Trypillian culture after 3200 BC, then you can see: different groups of the population overcame a crisis in a different way. So, we can speak about a few “anti-crisis programs” implemented in ancient times by Trypillians who strived to survive desperately. Not all these programs appeared to be

Vilkhovets in the Cherkassy region is one of the last prototowns of Trypillians. The plan and the view of excavations of the remains of a typical Trypillian dwelling. The first half of the 3rd millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Fragments of vessels which were found during excavations of the Usatove settlement probably reflect the composition of the bearers of this culture: Trypillians are obviously outnumbered here. The end of the 4th – the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC

black day” created by powerful chiefs appeared to be very useful; it allowed them not only to survive, but also to resist the raids of their hungry neighbors. Groups of warriors (well fed and organized and besides numerous) managed to defend the harvest in the fields. In any case, the residents of protocities in the Cherkassy region continued to make painted pottery and perform a rite of abandoning settlements which was accompanied with an immense sacrificial fire till the end of their existence. Real nomads appear in the steppe in those hard times. It happened not without the help of Trypillians. In the Usatove culture which was spread in the steppes mainly between the Dnister and the Danube their presence is rather noticeable. Here they found quite a lot of painted pottery; statuettes of rather peculiar appearance were used in rites. Another important component of the Usatove community (if we judge by the same pottery) was the population of the Cernavod| culture which had come from the West, from the Danube. Probably the descendants of the tribe which had been ruled by a chief buried with his horse head scepter in the Suvorove burial mound took part in the process of carrying out the steppe “anti-crisis program” (and creating a new culture). The important thing is that bearers of the Usatove culture were probably the first to create and use nomadic cattle-breeding as a special type of economic management in the steppes of our Land. Their burial mounds with characteristic burial places are scattered on watersheds along the valley of the Dnister – from maritime estuaries till Tiraspol indicating the routes of ancient nomads. Only a few settlements are known and all of them are situated near estuaries, in the South. Probably bearers of the Usatove culture spent winter here – closer to the warm sea. This system of economic management existed in these lands till the 18th century. It was also determined that residents of Usatove settlements continued to grow cereals – einkorn, hulless barley, oats, peas, bitter vetch (forage plant) and a traditional plant for nomads – millet. The latter prevails to a great extent among the impressions on pottery and on anthropomorphous statuettes. However, grain growing couldn’t Excavations of the Usatove settlement and burial mounds, research of 1940

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Section 5. The twilight of Old Europe Two components of Usatove: Cernavod| culture I (a polished vessel) and Trypillia – a painted cover which was found during the excavations of the burial places in burial mounds. The end of the 4th – the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC

be the leading branch of the Usatove economic management because lots which could be used for sowing were only in a floodplain and there weren’t so many of them. Numerous bones of domestic animals which had been found in these settlements during excavations and studied by paleozoologists became one of the arguments in favor of the conclusions regarding bearers of the Usatove culture-nomads. According to scientists, the main “breadwinner” of bearers of the Usatove culture must have been their herds. Their composition was the following: almost 70% – sheep, the same amount (17–13%) – great cattle and horses. This range of domestic animals both in terms of quality and quantity was ideally adjusted to farm management in the steppe. In winter, when pastures are covered with snow, first horses were sent there. Tall animals walked trampling snow and pastured, “trimmed” the tops of plant stems. They were followed by cows which “removed” the next layer of forage and also trampled snow. Sheep were the last to be sent to the pastures, they ate the rest of the grass which had been revealed from the snow cover by previous bigger animals. This mechanism (biotechnology – if you want) of feeding in the winter steppe covered with snow worked without fail for many millenniums. On the territo-

ry of Kazakhstan ethnographers found a correlation of the number of animals in a herd which was similar to the Usatove one in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century. There is one “but”: even according to the most perfect model of such economic management steppes could feed nomads much less than grain growers. Since grain growing in the steppe was impossible at that time due to ecological (and technological) reasons. First, it was cold and dry; second, it was impossible to plough virgin lands without iron tools (it will happen only a few thousand years later). Moreover, they had to fight for the possession of these pastures just like before for the possession of fields. That’s why it is not difficult to distinguish the graves of military leaders among Usatove burial places; they are distinguished by their monumentality and the presence of bronze weapons. And among “ordinary” bearers of the Usatove culture there are quite a lot of military graves with the traces of injuries which were received during the protection of the herd. The third way was chosen by Trypillians who went to the North, closer to the forests where lack of grain could be compensated for hunting and fishing, picking eatable plants and mushrooms. This is how Trypillians appeared in the Volhynia and Zhytomyr at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. It’s their traces that were discovered by V.V. Khvoika when he carried out excavations in Kyrylivska Street in Kyiv A big Usatove in 1893–1895. On capes defended dagger. from three sides by scarp slopes Bronze, the first Trypillians left numerous dugouts half of the and even more pits with domestic 3rd millennium BC wastes – fragments of broken vessels, bones of animals, ashes and burnt wood. So, the discovery of the Trypillian culture in Dnieper area was started some day from the place of staying of the latest, probably their last representatives.

Usatove statuettes – probably the image of warriors. The beginning of the 3rd millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes The skills to make high quality painted pottery were lost by the heirs of Trypillians who lived in Middle Dnieper area after 3000 BC. These fragments were found by V.V. Khvoika during excavations in Kyrylivska Street in Kyiv at the end of the 20th century

Judging by the appearance of pottery and weapons, these tribal groups already included not only Trypillians, but also some of other new western neighbors. For the new community painted pottery was practically as exotic as for the bearers of the Usatove culture in the South. At the most the surface of vessels was covered with red paint. However, during excavations fragments of simple roughly made pots were found most of all. Thus these descendants of Trypillians knew how to grow grain, to breed cattle, but almost nobody established permanent settlements (which amounted to two–three dozen buildings now) with big ground dwellings any more. And they seemed to have forgotten about the rite of burning settlements at all. But at the same time they chose places for settlements which were as high as possible, on capes and hills with slopes as scarp as possible. They chose a narrow cape; if necessary, it could be easily blocked with a ditch or a rampart. This population continued to use the deposits of Volhynia flint and even made great plates for tooth sickles of it. However, points of arrows definitely dominate among the found flint products. In the area of Kyiv a few necropolises with cremations of the late Trypillian culture were found. They were called as “the burial ground of the Sofiyivka type” after the name of the first find near the village of Sofiyivka. All in all five of them are known now, however, there could be (and were) much more of them. Excavations showed that quite a lot of warriors had been buried there including those who had died in a battle (among the ashes burnt points of arrows had been found). A numerous (a few hundred specimens) collection of arrows was gathered by The excavation of the burial ground of the Sofiyivka type, the 1950s of the 20th century. In the picture – a general view of the necropolis and the remains of burial places-cremations: vessels and heaps of burnt bones, instruments and adornments of the last Trypillians of Dnieper area

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Section 5. The twilight of Old Europe

Flint points of arrows from the collection of O. Yanovskyi which were gathered near the village of Vyshenky in the area of Kyiv. The beginning of the 3rd millennium BC

priest Yanovskyi near the village of Vyshenky some time ago. We can even try to reconstruct a few sets of weapons of horse archers which were obviously made by different fighters for themselves. And again in the collection there are a lot of burnt points of arrows. This very fact allows assuming the presence of a big burial ground of the Sofiyivka type in the area of the village. Judging by these flint points, the same The main weapon of the warriors of the Sofiyivka group – hammer-axes of stone which were found during excavations of burial grounds in the area of Kyiv. The first half of the 3rd millennium BC

Trypillians might as well be the enemy of the fighters who were killed in the fight. In addition, quite an impressive collection of flint battle hammer-axes were found in burial places. Some of them have prototypes among the weapons of their neighbors from Central Europe or were even made

Copper blades from the burial grounds of the Sofiyivka type. The first half of the 3rd millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A blade of the copper dagger and a whetstone from a burial place of the Sofiyivka type. The first half of the 3rd millennium BC

of the raw materials which had been brought from behind the Carpathians. Such hammeraxes are also among the weapons of some of the last southern and eastern Dnieper Trypillians. On the butt of some axes there are splits due to blows, some axes are broken. So, the found axes look like weapons which were used in a battle not once. The armory also included copper daggers of carved construction. One of them was put on the funeral fire of the deceased together with a grindstone. The analysis of metal products of the Sofiyivka burial ground showed that just like before deposits of copper explored more than a millennium ago within the limits of Volhynia and Dnister area had been used. Now we can only guess for what reason and with what purpose the last “Trypillian wars” on the bank of the Dnieper were waged almost forty seven centuries ago.

not only beautiful vessels but also a lot of other things which appeared not that necessary disappeared. No statuettes? But why make them, spend time when for some reason old gods stopped being defenders of people who perform rites in honor of them. And there is no need any more to give away expensive instruments, food and sacrifice buildings – as this rite proved to be absolutely ineffective, too. New gods and new rites in honor of them, new sacrifice are necessary. And the time which is free from performing rites that used to be so vital can be used more effectively in order to find food, to build fortifications, to train in archery or improve weapons. It is also worth noting that according to calculations of archeologists, at the late stage of Trypillia the number

Where did Trypillians disappear, where did they go? Everything is simple at first sight: if painted vessels, statuettes, wattle and daub dwellings disappear – it seems that people who created them, i.e. Trypillians, must disappear, too. But speaking about the disappearance of the culture, about the decay and the twilight of the civilization we must understand that its bearers do not disappear anywhere from this earth. Thus really beautiful refined Trypillian painted pottery disappeared forever. Well, perhaps the society couldn’t afford such luxury any more and continue to feed the craftsmen who made beautiful pots. Because when you are hungry – you become indifferent to some jugs and ornaments on bowls. In addition, it is not that difficult to make a pot for preparing food yourself if you need one. And then you can make lunch in it of cereals which you will not have to give to a potter in exchange for his work. In the same way Pottery from the Trypillian settlements of Volhynia: proof of the decay of the potter’s trade and a diversity of the cultural composition of the local population at the end of the 4th –the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC

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Section 5. The twilight of Old Europe

Usatove plastic art does not look like the Trypillian one at all. The first half of the 3rd millennium BC

of people in the tribes of this community reached 120,000. However, what catastrophe befell this civilization is explained by the comparison of this figure with the index of the number of the population for the previous period: more than 400,000. We can see that the number of Trypillians reduced by three or four times. When in the Second World War some

A plate with the image of a man and an animal which was found during excavations of the Usatove burial mound. The end of the 4th – the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC

regions and countries lost over 20% of the population, historians and politicians called it a catastrophe. Then how should we call the decrease in the number of the residents of the Land by 70%? In those ancient times a similar tragedy happened almost to all the participants of the project called “The civilization of Old Europe”. Perhaps only the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization demonstrates the level which could have been reached by the residents of Europe under more favorable conditions. This is how an epoch which lasted for more than two thousand years ended. At the same time we shouldn’t forget that even in the period of the decay of Trypillia the number of the population of bearers of different variants of this culture evidently exceeded all the other population of the land, all put together. What happened then? Some 40 or 50 years ago you could read that this land “had remained uninhabited for almost one thousand years”. In other words, from 2750–2600 BC – the limits of the final of Trypillia let’s deduct one thousand years and we get the date 1750–1600 BC. Let’s agree that this picture is just horrible. But the good news is that it does not correspond to reality. A wonderful illustration, an argument against the concept of a one thousand year post-Trypillian “desert” may be an example of the recent excavations near the village of Khodosivka and Lisnyky in the area of Kyiv. Here on a sandy eminence they found traces of the presence not only of the late Trypillian period, but also of the bearers of the Globular Amphora Culture, the Babino Culture, the Trzciniec culture who lived here after Trypillians and also others, till the Middle Ages, with intervals in dozens, but in no way many hundred and surely not a thousand years. The first three of the above mentioned archeological cultures actually cover the biggest part of that very one thousand year period which used to be considered as the one thousand year “blank spot” in the post-Trypillian history. It’s worth noting that there are more than one or two places like Lisnyky between the Carpathians and the Dnieper in the ancient “Land of Trypilliada”.

A fragment of a plate with the image of a man and an animal, Usatove

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Statuettes of the Serezliivka type were used when performing funeral rites. The first half of the 3rd millennium BC

Judging by the findings of the excavations of ancient settlements of the middle – the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, in those times practically the same thing like at the very beginning of the Trypillian history happened there: scarce representatives of tribes and clans which had been very powerful before formed new communities which are represented by archeological cultures of the early Bronze Age. You can say with confidence that in the next millenniums of the history of the Land such breakdowns, reformation of clannish and intertribal coalitions happened not once. Their traces are new archeological cultures. In the early Bronze Age the mentioned above Usatove culture, the cultural groups along the banks of the Dnieper, in Sea of Azov area, in the east of the Land are among them. And almost everywhere you can find if not the material traces of the Trypillian world in the form of painted vessels which were brought from some last islands of this civilization, then at least the imitation of its achievements – rough likeness of painted pottery. You can find in burial places under mounds even statuettes made by local sorcerers who performed rites which were probably similar to Trypillian ones in some way. Enormous information from different fields of knowledge and skills was preserved by heirs, but even more information has been lost. And the information about the creators of the ancient civilization had been later completely erased from the memory of generations which came back to their distant heirs long millenniums later. Did Trypillian prototowns have any chances to survive and their chiefs to climb the summit of power like rulers of

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Crete and to continue dominating in the Pontus steppes as the legendary king Minos ruled in the Mediterranean? Probably yes, they could, however, this chance was missed and all further attempts were directed not to achieving delusive power, but solely to surviving. For millenniums these lands appeared to be far from the frontiers of civilized communities of the Old World. Also it took entire millenniums to approach the level which was reached in the distant fifth millennium BC. At the same time the “Trypillian experiment” clearly showed that the land which is now called Ukraine can provide its residents practically unlimited possibilities. This is paradise for grain growers and cattle-breeders; there are plenty of mineral resources here. Here if you have enough knowledge, skills and the most important thing – will and desire, you can build a flourishing civilization which will arouse surprise and envy of neighbors both the near and distant ones. However, the sweet fruit of the civilization may be in the same way lost by heirs of its creators if they can’t face the challenge which will be sent by history and nature not once and not twice. What was created in these lands by the heirs of Trypillians and their neighbors in the Bronze Age is one more clear proof that history has plenty of opportunities and factors which can determine its further development.

Stone hammer-axes from the burial ground of the Sofiyivka type. The first half of the 3rd millennium BC

Section 6

Ancient burial mounds and their creators uge and of medium height and sometimes even barely visible embankments on the surface of the ground became an integral part of the landscape of many regions of modern Ukraine. And not only of landscapes, but also of the folklore. Almost in every village of Ukraine they will not only show you, but also tell you an appropriate story about the “Black”, “Cossack”, “Thick” or some other “grave”. The hero of a story will be a Cossack or even a Cossack colonel, in short – a hero who laid down his life in a bloody battle with enemies (Turks, Tatars, Poles – the list is rather long and diverse taking into account dramatic events in the history of Ukraine) and also his faithful fellows who filled this grave with their hats in sorrowful silence. This story was even realized on movie in a picturesque and emotional way in an old film “Bohdan Khmelnytsky”. This legend is good, but in reality neither Cossacks nor their hats had anything to do with building burial mounds-graves. Archeologists have all the grounds to claim that regardless of the legends and even a very convincing reference to a film, these burial mounds-graves were filled (and not with hats) many thousand years before that epoch which is as legendary when Cossacks went to fight for the freedom of Ukraine.

H

How to build a burial mound The first burial mounds (or “kurgans”) in our Land as part of a funeral rite were built approximately five thousand years ago. As far back as one thousand years ago they were still built over burial places by representatives of different peoples who lived at that time on the territory of Ukraine – Slavs, Pechenegs, Cumans. With the appearance and spreading of two world religions in Europe – Islam and Christianity this custom disappeared quite quickly, and ancient burial grounds and mounds, the related customs and rites (together with treasures buried in them) became part of legends. Can you be surprised after this that the names of tribes which were the first to start building burial mounds and continued to do so for a few distant millenniums have been completely erased from the memory of people? Now only excavations can give some information about that distant epoch. Ukrai-

ne is so abundant in burial mounds of different historical periods the researches of which have lasted for more than two hundred years and in the last half-century even a corresponding notion appeared: “mound archeology”. The builders of ancient burial mounds are called according to the archeological tradition based on the type of funerary buildings: “Yamnyky” (pit), “Katakombnyky” (catacomb) and “Zrubnyky” (timber grave), archeological cultures were called accordingly. Their bearers built mounds over burial places, but the dead were buried either in pits of different forms, in catacombs dug in the ground or in special timber graves or even in stone tombs.

Excavations of burial mounds in the Odessa region. The 1960s–1970s of the 20th century

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Cultures and communities of the early Bronze Age — the 3rd millennium BC

All such funeral rites are connected with certain views about life after death and the desire to support this life (and the future rebirth) of the dead and everything was in accordance with the social and property status of the dead. For this purpose, regardless of the rank, the type of activity and the level of prosperity of the dead, they put in his grave utensils, food and drinks, decorations, weapons and craftsman’s tools. If it was necessary, they put even means of transport, plow cattle and domestic animals. All this was done so that a man who passed to the other world could have all the necessary things including not only domestic animals, but also his own territory where he could pasture them. A burial mound built in the steppe reflected certain rights of property for the pastures which guaranteed the existence of steppe peoples. Mounds served not only as overgrave constructions. Well visible against a background of the steppe landscape, they indicated ways of movement of nomads and at the same time were a certain symbol of the connection of descendants and ancestors, the present and the past. In those ancient times, with different variations, a custom to build burial mounds was spread from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, from Ukrainian (and other) steppes to Egypt and the islands near the shores of Arabia. Tombs and pyramids of ancient pharaohs differ from catacomb or pit graves only by the quantity (and wealth) of property and by the size of stone “mounds”. Whatever you may say, but the Egyptian land was much richer at that time.

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Life in the steppe Residents of steppes of the Land in the third millennium BC were mainly engaged in nomadic cattle-breeding. As for their origin, a lot of spears have been broken in disputes about it, but most likely a certain part of mound cultures was formed in our land from the number of descendents of the last Trypillians and also their neighbors, both the near and distant ones, tribes which had existed in the outskirts of Old Europe and after their decay received an opportunity of a free movement to the limits which had been inaccessible before. In general, descendents of the ancient residents of the Steppe and also newcomers from other eastern and western lands were also here. The change of the climate which has been mentioned in the previous section at the turn of the 4th–the 3rd millennium BC led to spreading the steppe for hundreds of kilometers to the North. For the Land this event appeared to be both a catastrophe (the dis-

Section 6. Ancient burial mounds and their creators

The view over the location of a well-known settlement of ancient residents of steppes near the village of Mykhailivka of the Kherson region. Picture of the 1950s of the 20th century

Reconstruction of the funeral ritual of the Yamna culture (according to the findings of excavations)

appearance of the Trypillian civilization) and benefit, a fantastic gift of the destiny for future , distant generations – it is in that period that the well-known Ukrainian black soil was mainly formed. However, in those ancient times the decrease of the forest-steppe strip meant the collapse of all the way of life for ancient grain growers. As they say in an old proverb, hay does not go a cow itself. It means that cows, horses and other animals must be taken to forage and to water as well. The residents of steppes started mastering the technology of taking animals to grass in different seasons already in the times of the decay of Trypillia. At that time the first routes and the order of seasonal roaming were also determined. Roaming routes were connected with water because they had not only to feed the cattle, but also to water them a few times a day. So, only the area where there is not only grass, but also rivers or at least some springs could be considered ideal for roaming. In order to have enough grass, sometimes they had to go quite far from the place of their living. So, it was convenient to have a Pottery from the burial place of the Yamna culture. Excavations in the Cherkasy region. The 3rd millennium BC

dwelling which could be moved from one place to another. The places of temporary staying are called by archeologists as encampments. They find mainly garbage (broken vessels, bones of animals) and traces of camp fires there. But it is impossible to roam all year long. In winter it is better to settle down in a more substantial way. They needed not only a warmer and stronger dwelling than a hut, but also some shed for the cattle that could protect them not only from frost, but also from wind. Such places are already called as settlements, although it would be more appropriate to call them as a winter shelter. Old winter shelters could have not only a building on a stone foundation, but also stone walls-fences which protected not only the cattle from wind, but also their owners from the attacks of their excessively bellicose neighbors. A similar Pottery from the settlements of the early Bronze Age in Dnieper area. The 3rd millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes winter shelter was excavated in the area of Zaporizhya in the 1950s of the 20th century1. Buildings with stone foundations had wattle and daub walls and probably a roof covered with sod. Such covering preserves heat well, but it can leak. It’s worth noting that the residents of a small town called Troy which already existed at that time lived in dwellings of a similar type. However, the walls which surrounded their town were much more massive. However, the tribes of the catacomb culture also knew how to construct fortresses. It was them who built the first fortification on the island of Baida. They started excavating their remains blocked by ramparts of the semibastion of the wharf of the times of the Russian empress Anna Ioannovna in the 1990s of the 20th century. And in the times of the catacomb culture, in the third millennium BC, in this place there was a ditch and a rampart which separated one part of the island. Then residents of the island dag one more ditch and on top of the rampart which was partly faced with masonry they put a stone wall. Its height, judging by the width of the stone talus, could amount to two or three meters. As the ditch was dug till the level of the granite rock, the enemy couldn’t hope to get behind the fortification with the help of a sap. The total height of the protective structures could amount to four or five meters. Of course, it didn’t look like Troy, but all the same you couldn’t jump over it easily either. The fact that there were attempts to assault the fortifications of the bearers of the catacomb culture in Baida can be confirmed with the help of finds in the cultural layer of flint points of arrows and darts, sling stones. They even found a fragment of a part of the stone axe-hammer, probably, broken against the head of an enemy. However, this fortress was intended not only for assaults, but also for standing a siege. Their builders assured access to water having made stairs in the rock which led to the river where this descent was 1

2

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covered by the rock. So, I may say that the system of water supply was quite secret2. To sum up, it’s worth noting that we are speaking about the place where the famous knyaz Dmytro BaidaVyshnevetsky built with his Cossacks the first fortress behind the Dnieper rapids in the 16th century. The knyaz didn’t know then that the history of building fortifications on the island had amounted to more than four thousand years, but nonetheless he chose a good place.

The way of life of ancient nomads The life which had turned into eternal travel along steppes with breaks for winter required the creation of transportable objects of everyday life. Wooden and leather vessels became an attribute of a household for the period of travels. But they couldn’t do it without pots either. The technology of their production was rather primitive: modeling of clay strips by hand, burning in a fire. They mainly made vessels without any excessive ornaments. Making food on fire brought back to life, at least in the tribes of the Yamna culture, a pot with a rounded bottom which had been almost forgotten from the times of the Neolithic Age. You can’t put such a vessel on the table, but it is much more convenient to put it among the coals in a temporary fire than a flat-bottomed pot. A lot of vessels were made especially for funeral ceremonies. The population of the Catacomb culture achieved special success in making very complex in all respects products which suggest the deepest knowledge in the area of ancient magic of their craftsmen. Take the recipe of preparing materials for modeling funeral vessels alone! Such a mixture could In the early Bronze Age they continued to make labor instruments of flint upon old tested patterns. Finds from a settlement in Dnieper area. The 3rd millennium BC

The settlement was included into the scientific work named “Mykhailivka”. It was founded in the Copper Age and the upper layer of the early Bronze Age contained the remains of constructions of stone. Details of excavations and also the way of life and activities of the residents of this unique settlement are described in the book: Г. Ф. Коробкова, О. Г. Шапошникова. Поселение Михайловка. Эталонный памятник древнеямной культуры. — СLПетербург, 2005. (G.F. Korobkova, O.G. Shaposhnykova. The settlement of Mykhailivka. A reference monument of the ancient Yamna culture). The research of this ancient fortress basing on the rapids is described in the book: С. Ж. Пустовалов Соціальний лад катакомбного суспільства Північного Причорномор’я. — К., 2005. — С. 44—47 (S.Zh. Pustovalov The social order of the Catacomb society of Northern Black Sea Region). This book also contains a lot of information about the bearers of the Catacomb culture and their nearest neighbors.

Section 6. Ancient burial mounds and their creators Pottery of the Catacomb culture. The 3rd millennium BC

include not only clay and sand, but also pounded bones of animals (and maybe even people), and probably it is better not to know what they used to mix this mass. Ornamentation of pottery by the bearers of the Catacomb culture makes us remember the golden times of the Trypillian culture. Their pots are covered with mysterious compositions from top till the flat bottom inclusive. Multi-ray stars, triangles, crosses, circles marked with the help of a twisted cord, different stamps intertwined in fantastic compositions. Decoration is sometimes inlaid with paste of the white or red color the composition of which probably also had some magic properties. Strange as it may seem, but they preserved weaving which at first sight doesn’t seem to be typical of nomads. It was revealed that the bearers of the Yamna culture and the Catacomb culture had had not only a spindle whorl, but they also found the traces and the remains of fabric (in burial places). They used fabric not only to sew clothes, but also to make containers for storing food. In the Crimea they excavated a burial place of a bearer of the Catacomb culture whose caring relatives had put a real sack filled with wheat grains. A lot of things were made of leather. Sometimes their remains are preserved in a rather good condition in deep catacombs. On the territory of the Donetsk region they found a rectangular leather mat covered with decoration in the form of circles marked with the red paint part of

Cultic funeral vessel – censer. The Catacomb culture, The 3rd millennium BC

which were surrounded by black teeth. In the center there was a black sun inserted into a multi-ray black star. It surely belonged to a famous local sorcerer. The spiritual world of the ancient residents of the steppe of that age was rather complex and activity in the sacral field just like in old times required great effort. Quite a lot of amulets, necklaces made of not only bones, teeth of animals, but also of metal were found in graves.

Sacred places of the Steppe Sometimes they find such mounds under which there are no burial places and what is found there can be considered as sacrifice. These rather complex structures were ancient steppe temples with a ritual area on top. In a certain season people gathered near them to honor the memory of ancestors, to make a sacrifice to gods, to celebrate a holiday. Judging by the complexity of the construction, the presence of stone structures – cromlechs, menhirs, the ancient sanctuaries and mounds resemble the well-known European megaliths. The grandiose complex Stonehenge in Great Britain became their symbol. Though these structures are less immense and they have been found and studied less on the territory of the Land. One of them was found on the island Khortytsya on the Dnieper. To tell the truth, this name is now associated with events which are closer to us. But the glorious history of Khortytsya started at that time, more The residents of winter shelters were engaged in weaving. A spindle whorl was found in a Dnieper area settlement of the early Bronze Age. The 3rd millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

“Ukrainian Atlantis”. Excavations of an ancient cromlech which was flooded by the water of another hand-made see on the Dnieper. Picture of the 1950s of the 20th century

than forty five centuries ago. However, the sanctuaries (or cromlechs which remained from burial places) in Khortytsya just seemed so tiny as compared to the recently found complex in the Luhansk region. First these structures were called by journalists as “the Luhansk pyramids”, but recently it has had a more modest name – “a sanctuary on the Merheleva Ridge”. Most likely, this very name will be used for the nomination to be included to the list of the UNESCO world cultural heritage. The history of this find started in a rainy autumn of 1976 when a group of schoolchildren from Alchevsk headed by their teacher came to the place where the ancient structures were situated. On the surface of the ridge they noticed a few hills with the height from one and a half to two meters. They were clearly of artificial origin and on the slopes and on the mountain they noticed stone plates, a lot of plates. Archeological excavations started only in 2005. And only then archeologists started to reveal the secrets of the Merheleva Ridge bit by bit. Two of the four hills appeared to be burial mounds; two more hills which were constructed with the use of a clay mixture with stone blocks appeared to be huge alters. One of the burial mounds was excavated manually, which is quite uncommon for the practice of the mound archeology in the East of Ukraine. That’s why its study lasted for two years, but in the embankment they found not only more than a dozen burial places, but also the traces of ancient sacrifices in the form of small pits with walls strengthened with stone plates. It was determined that this burial mound had been made by a few stages, something like “a long-term construcThe location of three the most important sanctuaries of the early Bronze Age in the steppes of Ukraine tion project” which had lasted almost

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Section 6. Ancient burial mounds and their creators

Kamyana Mohyla, just like before, was also one of the main sanctuaries of steppe tribes in the 3rd millennium BC

for one thousand and a half years! The most ancient burial places were dated to the second half of the 4th millennium BC; the dead who had been buried by both the bearers of the Catacomb culture and the bearers of the Timbergrave culture in the 2nd millennium BC were also found there. Most often children were buried here – perhaps it is not accidental. Part of funeral pits was covered with stone plates – they found five of them in the burial mound. Ancient burial places were surrounded by a circle of dug stones – cromlechs. By the way, the bearers of the Timber-grave culture who filled up the burial mound added their own second circle of stones to the initial one. But the most important thing: it turned out that the burial mound blocked part of a bigger ancient structure – masonry on a clay mixture. It means that the unknown first builders built their sacred place here as far back as hundreds of years before the construction of the burial mound with cromlechs! And this construction was carried out at the time when far to the West, behind the Dnieper, there still existed Trypillians. Now researchers are rather prudent in their conclusions; besides quite a small part has been excavated to give an exhaustive answer to all the questions. For example, the studies on the slopes of the ridge have just started. They revealed the traces of ancient terraces. At the best it may take 10–20 years to study the whole sanctuary. But the most interesting thing is that just like in the case with the Trypillian prototowns it turned out that we can still make important discoveries on the territory which has been researched by archeologists far and wide. Of course, the Merheleva Ridge can’t be compared to Egyptian pyramids, but it’s worth taking into account that this construction in the steppes of the Land started at least about 600 years before the pyramid boom in Ancient Egypt. The recent researches showed that the sacred fire on top of the ridge was already lighted approximately in 3

the middle of the 4th millennium BC. Thus for that time when they were only designing or starting to build wellknown Stonehenge3, the sanctuary on the Merheleva Ridge was probably the biggest ritual complex in this part of Europe. It’s worth noting that it was not the only complex like that in the East of Ukraine as in the Bronze Age there appeared well-known Kamyana Mohyla in the area of Melitopol with images carved on its plates.

Mummies of the local production Representatives of the Catacomb culture spent their time not only on building fortresses, mounds and different sanctuaries. They observed funeral rituals which were quite uncommon for this land. To tell the truth, the bearers of the Catacomb culture never mastered the secrets of the production of mummies upon the best Egyptian pat-

The beginning of the construction of Stonehenge is now dated to approximately 3200 BC

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“Modeled skulls” from burial places of the Catacomb culture. The 3rd millennium BC

Adornments and amulets from burial places of the Yamna culture. The 3rd millennium BC

terns – either the recipes turned out to be not very applicable to the local conditions or the priests of the valley of the Nile kept their secrets carefully. However, the bearers of the Catacomb culture managed to preserve the features of the face and partly of the body of the dead for millenniums. This practice is known best of all under the name “the rite of modeling skulls”4, though, according to researches, everything was not limited to skulls. For the first time such a skull was found during excavations of an ancient burial place in the area of Dnipropetrovsk as far back as 1935. For now a few dozen are already known. Most graves with modeled skulls are found in the area of the river Molochna, which allowed thinking that this area was the place of burial of the local elite of the time of the Catacomb culture. Just like in Egypt, the process started from separating the head from the body, removing soft tissues and also the content of the skull. Then using a mixture made on the basis of clay of different colors (from yellow to grey and light blue), ochre, pounded coals, some pitch material they reconstructed the features of a person. Complete

“portraits” where eyes and holes in the nose are inlaid with soot, pieces of ochre or even with fragments of pottery are known. The degree and the quality of rendering portrait features could depend both on the skills of the performer and on other factors which are not always known and clear for us. It’s worth noting that the head of the dead processed in the mentioned above way was not always returned to its place. Sometimes they are found below shoulders and most often near the right shoulder. In one of the burial places a skeleton cleared from soft tissues was completely covered with a mixture on the basis of clay and turned into a kind of a statue. Such practice of making portraits of skulls was known in Anatolia as far back as the Neolithic Age and in Far Egypt bodies covered with “plaster” are found in burial places of the times of Pharaoh Cheops. The latter and also some of his ancestors and descendants were contemporaries of the bearers of the Catacomb culture. There remains only one thing, to determine if this tradition was brought from Egypt to the Black Sea Region steppes or its sources must be searched for in the depth of the Neolithic history of the Near East. In any case, the secret of the rite is clearly connected with the eastern antiquities. Modeled skulls were found not only in burial places of the Catacomb culture, but of the Yamna culture as well. Besides the mentioned above custom, there are finds of skulls which are painted or ornamented with ochre. It is known that the ancient Celts believed that the head of an ancestor (by the way, the ancestor who showed his worth during his life) was capable in some magical way to protect their country from the invasion of enemies. If this is the case, then we can assume that in the times of the Catacomb and Yamna cultures this property could be assigned to sculptures made on the basis of skulls of respectable people from their tribe with the use of appropriate recipes and spells. As it was the time you always had to be ready to defend yourself, your pastures, your tribe and your herds of animals.

Adornments and amulets from burial places of the Yamna culture made of bones, teeth of animals and of bronze. The 3rd millennium BC

4

С. Ж. Пустовалов Соціальний лад катакомбного суспільства Північного Причорномор’я. — К., 2005. — С. 89—94.

(S. Zh. Pustovalov The social order of the Catacomb society of Northern Black Sea Region).

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Section 7

The age of battle axes

ncient residents of the Land at those cruel times relied not only on magic, but also on old and trusted weapons. Weapons which were tested back in Trypillian wars. In the early Bronze Age almost all Europe mastered mass production of battle hammer-axes of flint. This technology and the weapon created on its basis were spread on a vast territory – from the Atlantic to the Urals. For one thousand and a half years the production of battle axes flourished till it was forced out by competitors who created new patterns of a deadly weapon of bronze. That’s why, probably, it will not be an exaggeration to call the 3rd millennium BC “the age of battle axes”.

A

Cultures of battle axes Some archeological cultures which existed on the territory of the Land in the 3rd millennium BC were recognized by archeologists as worthy of the title “the culture of battle axes. And there were a lot of grounds for that. Tribes who left numerous stone battle axes and pottery decorated with impressions of a cord lived to the north of the steppes which at that time reached the present-day Kyiv region inclusive (watersheds are still marked here with earth-deposits of burial mounds). That’s why they were called by archeologists “the Corded Ware culture” or “the Battle Axe culture”. Judging by some finds, they also managed to meet the communities of Trypillians in this land. Roaming with herds of sheep from mountains to plains the residents of the Carpathians of the third millennium BC created here a system of economic management (to say nothing about characteristic features of the material culture) which is well known to everybody who has been to Hutsul villages of Ukraine. It is at that time that the way of life which successfully existed till the 20th century was probably created in this land. The bartka (a Hutsul axe) is still an integral attribute of the national man’s costume. Its prototype is a flint or metal wedge-axe which was fixed to a long handle in a different way. However, a

lot of perforated hammer-axes were found both in burial places and in an accidental way. New residents of the western regions of the Land also built burial mounds. In Prykarpattia, even in the Carpathians, you can meet rather low hills. As skeletons in burial places are not preserved in burial places due to the properties of the soil, archeologists, as a rule, find only things – vessels and axes. Territories which were occupied by the bearers of the Corded Ware culture in the east reached the left bank of

Battle hammer-axes. The 3rd millennium BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Vessels of the Globular Amphora Culture. The 3rd millennium BC

A vessel of the Middle Dnieper culture which was found in Kyiv region. The 3rd millennium BC

the Dnieper. They found a burial place here and even a settlement of a special culture which was called by researchers “the Middle Dnieper culture”. Most of its relics are situated on the territory of modern Belarus. Nonetheless, in the south bearers of the Middle Dnieper culture, judging by the finds, even reached the area of present-day Kaniv. Their burial places were also found near the settlement of Trypillia.

Flint axes of the Globular Amphora Culture. The 3rd millennium BC

It’s worth noting that for quite a long time bearers of the Corded Ware culture shared all the mentioned above territories with representatives of another culture which left burial places in sarcophagi made of big stone plates. In graves they found characteristic vessels of the rounded form with handles in the upper part. That’s why it was called the Globular Amphora Culture. It is thought that representatives of this culture were also rather bellicose. But the range of weapons is simpler here: blade-like axes and bone points of darts which resemble hunting instruments of the age of hunting for the reindeer of the late Neolithic Age. There its traces were found even on the territory of the expansion of the Yamna culture. Given the fact that the border of the area of their settlements was a little further to the south of Kyiv. So, the forest strip, just like the north of the foreststeppe, in the period after Trypillians didn’t look empty at all. True, there were fewer people there because such main activities as cattle-breeding, hunting and fishing could assure survival at the best, but not an increase in the population. And they also constantly had to fight even for that scarce food which they got with painstaking effort.

Life is war A stern life of the ancient residents of the Land, the necessity to constantly fight for territories abundant in resources or for food (this could be a grain harvest, a herd of cattle) led to strengthening the militarization of the tribes. The presence of a constant external threat required an accurate military organization. This was one of the reasons for the appearance of a firm hierarchical system on the model of an Indian system of castes. On top of the pyramid there were society and religious leaders. They were followed by professional warriors (at that time weapons and fight technique reached such a level that in order to handle them well it was necessary to have certain skills and to be in good shape). Below there were ordinary members of the

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Section 7. The age of battle axes

Stone maces of the Catacomb culture. The 3rd millennium BC

tribe who in their turn were also divided into groups of craftsmen, traders and herdsmen. On the lowest level of the pyramid there were “strangers who had joined the tribe” part of whom were probably prisoners of war-slaves. Most likely belonging to a certain social group was hereditary and was marked both with special rituals and with symbols. The social hierarchy, judging by the characteristics of burial places, became rather sophisticated, separate tribes could submit (in a forced or volunteer way) to more powerful neighbors1. The symbol of belonging to the military class were battle hammer-axes which were made of hard types of stone – granite, diabase, basalt. Some of the found hammer-axes were so big that could be used only as cultic objects. Such a widely known Ukrainian symbol of power as a mace became widespread at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC (though maces appeared in the Land as far back as the Neolithic Age and Trypillians were familiar with them). A mace is first of all a weapon which consists of a ball-shaped stone top and a wooden handle, but at the same time it is a ceremonial accessory. The interesting thing is that a mace of a similar construction was also at that time one of the symbols of the

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power of Egyptian pharaohs. Although for military purposes Egyptians used a mace of another construction with a disk-like top. A warrior’s weapons of the early Bronze Age, according to the reconstruction based on the images on the famous “Idol of Kernosivka”2, included a bow with arrows, a dagger, two throwing axes and one heavy axe-hammer for close battles. Points of arrows were made of a tested triangular form with thorns of different types and sizes. Thorns could make the process of removing such arrows from a body at least very painful if not hopeless. On flint points of battle arrows of the Catacomb culture which are so refined that they resemble rather jewelry than part of a deadly weapon they made special thin whiskers which impede the removal of the point from a wound. However, any point made of flint after a hit in a bone broke to numerous pieces and it would be difficult to remove all of them even for a present-day surgeon. A certain amount of arrows were found in burial places during excavations. Judging by their position (often between the ribs or even in the spinal column), a thing like that “was hardly put as a gift from loving relatives” as one

Points of arrows of the Catacomb culture. The 3rd millennium BC. Products with a refined form and a deadly weapon at the same time

There is an opinion (which is based on archeological sources) regarding the presence of a class-caste system in the tribes of the bearers of the Catacomb culture: Пустовалов С. Ж. Соціальний лад катакомбного суспільства Північного Причорномор’я. — К. , 2005. — 412 с. (Pustovalov S.Zh. The social order of the Catacomb society of Northern Black Sea Region). You can see this stele in the first hall of Dnipropetrovsk D. Yavornytskyi Historical Museum.

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Hammer-axes with handles: above is an axe for close battle, below are two throwing axes

famous researcher of burial mounds wrote in one of his scientific works. Quite a lot of stone hammer-axes have survived to this day. Each item of these stone weapons was made for a certain owner (axes for the right or left hands are known). A hole was drilled from one and sometimes even from two sides with the help of bone, flint and even wooden drills (in the former and latter case they put sand under them). The work was done on a special workbench with a hand drive – the so-called bow drill

which resembled a bow in the string of which a drill was fastened. It has been assumed once that the work on such an axe was started by a grandfather and was finished by a grandson. However, such conclusions of experts, as it often happens, turned out to be a little exaggerated and premature. The studies showed that possessing certain skills an axe which is not very complex can be made in about a week of hard work. Sometimes an axe blade was turned at a small angle to the axis of the handle. The direction of the turn depended probably on whether this axe was made for the right or the left hand. Such construction increased the effectiveness of the blow. In addition, the ancient designers tried to increase the length of the blade extending it to the rear part of the axe. It also increased the battle properties of the weapon. Hammer-axes were thoroughly polished and even decorated with ornaments. The products of the armorers of the Inhul Catacomb culture looked especially refined. Some of the elements of the composition resemble lightning, others – ears and according to the general plan of the customer-manufacturer all together they increased the battle power of the weapons in a substantial way. Sometimes stone axes were made imitating metal products – on some finds you can see “casting seams” made in a careful way. Drilled holes on axes with magnification: 1 – you can see that the hole was made from two sides; 1–3 – you can see that the holes are made with the help of different drills

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Section 7. The age of battle axes Specimens of hammer-axes made for the right or the left hand: the blade is sloped at an appropriate angle in relation to the handle The position of the blade at an angle to the axis of the handle increased battle properties of the weapon

They blew the enemy both with the blade and the butt. This is confirmed by the traces on the most “distinguished” specimens of this weapon. The handle of a well-balanced axe-hammer (I checked it myself) turns in your palm well that’s why you can strike a blow in turn – first with a blade, then with a butt. Throwing axes can be a very effective and dangerous weapon in good hands. You could hit the enemy at a distance of up to 30 meters! In some burial places there are skulls with the traces of a few hits. But sometimes the victim managed to survive even after a penetrating wound in the head. Archeologists also found

a few skulls with a well done trepanation after which a person could live a few more years. Bronze weapons including axes and daggers of the perfect form were also used. Weapons made of flint were widely used together with bronze weapons. The forms of flint daggers resemble

Traces of blows on the blade and the butt of hammer-axes

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes An axe of bronze. The second half of the 3rd millennium BC

A bronze dagger of the Catacomb culture. The 3rd millennium BC

the attempts to penetrate to the territory of another tribe were punished with the help of cardinal methods. In the same way the determination of the right of property for a certain pasture was also a reason for war.

A bronze dagger which was found in a rich burial place of the Yamna culture. The 3rd millennium BC

Eternal glory metal prototypes. The mastery of making flint weapons is very impressive. Both battle technique and weapons of that time were intended mainly for war of annihilation of the enemy. Many of the people who were buried under mounds had died a violent death. And it is not about the cruelty of warriors of that age, it is about the natural resources. Driving animals to new pastures tribes had to be sure that there were enough grass and water there. The appearance of an “unplanned” herd in the outskirts threatened the survival of the tribe. Naturally all Daggers made of flint by the bearers of the Corded Ware culture. The 3rd millennium BC. Probably these products had bronze prototypes

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It is in this age that powerful warriors occupy a special place not only in the life, but also in the imagination of fellow tribesmen. A certain cult of heroes, warriors who defend the tribe and their property (first of all cattle) in conflicts and wars of that restless time appears. The very notion of military Glory – Glory with a capital letter appears3. This Glory was even considered to be some material substance and was worshiped. Such examples can be found in legends of later epochs. They started erecting stone statues – steles to honor heroes and their heroic deeds. On top of these steles there were images of these heroic deeds. These were not just some images; these were whole stories about the life journey of a great warrior, the description of his great deed (deeds). Most often such monuments were found in the steppe area, but they were also found further to the North. An image on a stele in honor of a hero is something like comics. It may consist of a few tiers. In the lower tier there is an image of what became a reason for war or for a clash – prisoners, herds of cattle. In the middle tier there are the hero’s weapons and scenes of the battle. In the upper tier they describe how the hero achieves Heavenly Glory and feasts among gods. And above all this there is the warrior’s face disfigured with anger and battle-cry. This image makes enemies shiver and arouses eternal respect of his fellow tribesmen. The famous stele from Dnieper area – “Idol of Kernosivka” might as well be a similar monument. It is exhibited in the Dnipropetrovsk Museum now. There is an image of the weapons of a hero – throwing axes, an

This story appeared under the impression of the speech of the Doctor of Philosophic Sciences V.Ya. Vasylkov, a senior research fellow of Peter the Great Museum of anthropology and ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Section 7. The age of battle axes axe for close battle, a dagger, a bow and a mace on it. The types of the weapons make it possible to conclude that they were made in the times of the Catacomb culture – approximately in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. Perhaps the warrior also had armor. In the bottom part of the statue there is an image of animals. Probably this is a stele in honor of the hero who “died defending the herd”; this is the official wording connected with a similar heroic deed which is portrayed on later steles in distant India. Why is India mentioned here? Because sometimes the destinies of steppe tribes of that age interwove with the histo-

“Idol of Kernosivka” is probably a monument in honor of the hero who died in a fight defending herds. The 3rd millennium BC. A unique clear example of the armor and weapons of a steppe warrior of a high rank of that time

Stone steles of the Yamna culture. The 3rd millennium BC

ry of countries which were quite far from Black Sea Region and Sea of Azov area steppes.

The echo of ancient sounds A good illustration of the relations between neighbors in those ancient times is the echo of events which remained in modern languages. In the North the representatives of the Yamna and Catacomb cultures – probably Indo-Iranian tribes which in those ancient times called themselves Aryans (according to one version this name is connected with the Sun – ARIY-ORIY-JARILO, according to another version “arua” (Aryan) means “hospitable” and also “host”, “a person of noble origin”, “free”) in the 3rd millennium BC (or later) didn’t have quite peaceful neighboring relations with the Finnish-Hungarian peoples. Probably it is not a mere coincidence that most of bronze axes which were found in graves of the Yamna culture during excavations were con-

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes centrated along this border. Perhaps it was here that a lot of candidates for Heroes finished their glorious life journey more than forty centuries ago. Others were even less lucky. In some Finnish-Hungarian languages the notion “slave” was referred to the word “Aryan”. So, when proud Aryans were taken prisoner by their neighbors, they occupied a position which was not very noble. However, there was certain parity here as well – warriors of both parties had equal chances to finish an unsuccessful raid with life-long “compulsory labor in favor of the enemy”. It is clear that a linguistic contribution of the ancient peoples to modern life is not limited by one notion “Aryan”. The following words have been preserved in the Ukrainian language since that time: ватра, кубок, ситець, камфора, Бог, рай, збіжжя, хвала, кагат, хорт, курка, ворс, хом’як, кишеня, сто, чаша, шатро, доїти, бачити, топірець, ящірка, груша, мідь, бронза, морда and a lot of others. According to linguists we owe this heritage to our belonging to the so-called Indo-European language family. Geographical names which are usual for us – toponyms can also be connected with that epoch. For instance, the Dnieper has been called the Dnieper for five thousand years. The same applies to the Carpathians (literally “rocky”). Such names as the Dnister, the Danube, the Don, the Desna, the Dvina, Sambir, the Horyn, Stryi, the Sula, Khorol, the Prut and hundreds of other toponyms have been heard since then. Moreover, interpenetration of toponyms from different languages to the North and to the South is observed. What is it – an echo of ancient battles, campaigns or long-lasting peaceful coexistence of ancient tribes? At the same time it’s worth taking into account that an ancient people with the ethnicon “Indo-Europeans” has never existed; this name is an invention of scientists. Later, solely for the sake of convenience when writing sci-

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Flint flate axes of the Corded Ware culture. The 3rd millennium BC

entific works, at some moment they started using the name “Aryans” in relation to language ancestors of all historical peoples who belong to the Indo-European language family. And all these conventions have been forgotten somehow and now we can read in a newspaper, for example, the following “Aryan boots trod the ground of Baida Island as far back as four thousand years”. Of course, the traces of boots haven’t survived to this day. And in reality we are speaking only about the fact that during archeological excavations they found fragments of pottery and other artifacts which had been left by the bearers of the Catacomb culture who probably belonged to the Indo-European language family.

Section 8

On the leading edge of the technologies of the ancient times n the modern world countries are considered to be advanced in terms of technologies if they have, for example, space, computer or biotechnologies. It would be interesting to look back at the past to try to determine what technologies were considered to be advanced some four or five thousand years ago? What can be included into the top list of discoveries and know-how of the so-called early Bronze Age and what is more important, if the tribes which lived in the Land had any relation to this list? This top list of discoveries of the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC can justly include such things as the wheel, metallurgy and written language. The residents of the Land were not only familiar with the first two positions, but they were also one of the first who mastered the production of means of transport with the use of the wheel. They also had rather developed (for that time) metallurgy – in other words, everything that constitutes the basis of the present-day civilization. The only thing is that they didn’t succeed in written language once again.

I

The first wheel in the steppes of Ukraine Perhaps Trypillians were already familiar with the wheel, but the first boom of the wheel transport in the steppe strip is dated to the age of the so-called kurgan cultures. The total number of wheels of that time which were found in the Black Sea Region mounds exceeded the number of one hundred a long time ago. In the burial places of the Yamna and Catacomb cultures of the end of the 20th century they found approximately an equal number of carts – 56 and 50 respectively. At that time it was one of the biggest “vehicle fleet” on the territory of Europe. They found more ancient carts only in Prykubannya where they counted even 118 of them. For the first time they started finding wheels during excavations of mounds of the Bronze Age as far back as the 1960s of the 20th century. Rotten wood still retained the form which once had been given to it with the help of stone and judging by some traces even metal instruments. At first means of transport were not very fast because they yoked oxen. However, the load-carrying ability was amazing. The wheels were rather strong because sometimes they were cut out (sometimes together with a hub!) from huge oak trunks split in lengthways. Even now you can notice traces of instruments (including metal ones) on their surface. Some masterpieces of the wheel craft appeared to be composed of a few tenoned elements. Not only wheels, but also fragments of ancient carts and even whole specimens have survived to this day; they allow estimating their high reliability and constructive

perfection. Sometimes modern researchers find it hard to determine the purpose of all the range and diversity of the found parts of carts. Suffice it to say that already at that time people were familiar with the so-called wheel camber (a technical solution well known to motorists which increases the effectiveness of the performance of a vehicle in a loaded

Excavations of a burial place of the Yamna culture (the 3rd millennium BC) with fragments of wheels made of wood. The Odessa region, the 1960s of the 20th century

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Reconstruction of a cart of the early Bronze Age according to the findings of archeological researches. The museum in Kamianets-Podilskyi

ly that brakes were used for steep descents. Taking into consideration the state of steppe roads (which hasn’t changed to a great extent since then) it is doubtful that at that time somebody would risk to overtake anybody driving such a cart. Massive, rather spacious four-wheel products of ancient craftsmen which resemble tchoomak carts with leather cover could be not only a means of transport, but also a dwelling on wheels. Besides a two-axle construction they also made one-axle carts of the type similar to a bullock cart. The problematic point here is the use of such means of transport as battle chariots1 as the speed property of the yoked oxen is clearly not enough. One thing is obvious: only wealthy and respectable people of the society could have good and reliable carts at that time. This is confirmed by considerable sizes of burial mounds under which means of transport were found. Most often they were put in graves in a disassembled way – wheels separately, the rest of the parts separately. Sometimes a cart was made only for the use in a funeral ceremony, something like singleuse means of transport. Why did residents of steppes need carts? They were convenient for roaming; they Computer reconstruction of a cart of the Catacomb culture could be used for transporting

state). Some time ago at the Zaporizhya automobile plant they carried out a research of the cart which had been found in one of the burial places on the territory of the Crimea. The results of the technical expertise became a surprise to a certain extent for modern auto makers. It turned out that the craftsmen of the Bronze Age determined the most optimal wheel camber as far back as forty five centuries ago! Some constructions suggest the invention of an element which is as important – brakes. True, taking into account the use of oxen as pulling power, it is most like-

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The data about the craftsmen of the Catacomb culture are collected in the mentioned above book by S.Zh. Pustovalov

Section 8. On the leading edge of the technologies of the ancient times property, for living and for protection. In addition they had an opportunity to carry some valuable load in order to sell or trade it profitably. Scientists paid attention to the concentration of the found products of precious metals, mainly silver, in burial places of the Yamna culture which had been excavated in the maritime strip a long time ago. Quite a lot of fragments of ancient carts were also found. Maybe this was not accidental and the owners of carts earned their silver in return for something. In the region of the spreading of the Yamna culture there are two resources which could interest the owners of carts: fish and salt2. So, it is quite possible that it is the ancient bearers of the Yamna culture that could be one of the first tchoomaks on the territory of the Land.

Donets Basin treasures If at the beginning of the Bronze Age the pottery trade obviously declined, the metallurgy received a new incentive. Products of bronze gradually replaced soft copper ones. This alloy is much better for making tools, household things, weapons and adornments. After the disappearance of the civilization of Old Europe in Transylvania and in the Balkans the channel of the import of Balkan and Carpathian copper dried out. However, alternative sources of raw material which were as abundant were found in the East. On the territory of the Donets Basin approximately as far back as the 3rd millennium BC they started extracting ore deposits and also an intensive development of metallurgy began. It is confirmed by the finds in the burial places of the Catacomb culture. Its local variant, by the way, one of the most ancient ones in this community, was called “the Donets Catacomb culture”.

Vessels of the Donetsk Catacomb culture which were found during excavations of burial places under mounds. The 3rd millennium BC

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Bronze axes. The second half of the 3rd and the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC

The Donets ally of the tribes-representatives of the Catacomb culture which controlled the production of metal was one of the most wealthy and powerful at that time. It not only completely satisfied its needs, but also provided products and raw materials to the population of other regions. The technology of receiving copper, the alloy base, was not changed for centuries. They broke the extracted ore, chose the best, the greenest pieces and put them into a pit with layers of wood coal between these pieces. Then this pit was burnt and air was pumped with the help of furs in order to increase the temperature of the melting. This way they received metal in the form of small amorphous ingots. The metal output from local ores was rather small (up to 4–5%), but ancient metallurgists had plenty of time. Other components for the production of bronze were also extracted nearby. Then metal came to casters. Quite a lot of equipment which is necessary for this work was found. Crucibles, ladles for melted metal and even casting forms were made of clay. This form couldn’t bear many castings, but they were easy to

A bronze knife-dagger, the Catacomb culture. The 3rd millennium BC

S. Ivanova, an archeologist from Odessa, paid attention to this connection between the prosperity of the bearers of the Yamna culture and a possibility of trading salt.

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Products of metal which were found during excavations of “winter shelters” in Dnieper area. The 3rd millennium BC

make. In order to make complex products upon the model of axes with holes, more complex forms which consisted of a few parts were necessary. They tried to use metal economically. For example, let’s take the knives of the Catacomb culture. All of them have a small triangular blade and a small pivot-handle which could be wrapped with a strip of leather or you could get a wooden handle on it. The blade was 3–5 cm long sharpened from both sides; it was equally convenient for woodcarving and for cutting off pieces of meat during a meal.

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Sharpened bronze rods were used not only for working flint, but also as a goad – a means of controlling the yoked oxen. Of course, this is barbarity, but how else can you get these thick-skinned animals? There was also demand for copper pendants, beads, rings and threads of beads decorated with a hallmark ornament. A lot of metal accessories were required for military costumes and outfit. Craftsmen who worked with metal were rather respectable people in the Catacomb society, judging by the riches of their burial places. Even in the other world they had all the accessories of the craft in their possession: ceramic nozzles for bellows, ladles and casting forms. Such burial places were found on the territory from Dnieper area in the West to the present-day frontier areas of Ukraine in the East. There are interesting burial complexes where they put sets of instruments and appliances connected with different crafts in the grave of the dead: metalwork, the production of arrows, etc. As a rule, these burial places are distinguished with wealth during their construction on the whole. In this case the dead was hardly a jack-of-all-trades, most likely it was a person who was respected in his community-tribe and who occupied quite a high position in order to be considered a patron (owner) of different arts and crafts. In one of the burial places besides accessories of a craftsman-caster they also found clay forms for making bronze ingots. When they determined the weight of ingots which could be received in these forms, it

A set of instruments of a caster of the Catacomb culture: ceramic casting forms and a ladle. The 3rd millennium BC

Section 8. On the leading edge of the technologies of the ancient times turned out that on the whole it corresponded to the standards which had been applied in distant Mesopotamia at that time. Catacomb and Yamna tribes were also familiar with the products of gold and silver. The most often finds are massive spirals for the decoration of the plaited hair. At that time men-warriors had to have such plaits. The material for spirals was chosen in accordance with the position in the society; this could be gold, silver, bronze or even wood. In exchange for metal and products thereof the residents of “Donetsk” received from their near and distant neighbors not only material values, but also technological novelties including from the Caucasus which is a recognized center of the development of metalwork of that epoch. Some archeological finds allow speaking about the existence of close economic and cultural connections with the leading centers of the civilization of that time. For instance, in the burial places of the bearers of the Catacomb culture they found a faience necklace which had come here from either Egypt or from Asia Minor.

The signs of the beginning of the Bronze Age Among the heritage of past epochs which appeared to be important in the early Bronze Age the system of signs can be distinguished. Bearers of many cultures, especially of the Catacomb one, continued to use it in a sacral practice. It has even been assumed that the bearers of the Catacomb culture managed to receive some knowledge in this field from Trypillians. In the light of the extension of the age of the Catacomb culture to the 4th millennium BC, approximately to 3200 (together with the dating of later Trypillians to 2750–2600 BC), the very thought about the coexistence of these cultures doesn’t seem so impossible any more. It’s a pity that nobody has carried out a detailed comparison of Catacomb and Trypillian signs yet. Thanks to the analysis of stories in the paintings of the walls of funeral catacombs, the ornamentation of pottery, images on bronze pendants, steles and even stone axes, 24 groups of signs have already been singled out from triangles to hooks, crosses to dots, dashes and “trees of life”3. There are also similar signs of the Bronze Age on the plates of the sanctuary Kamyana Mohyla. A vessel of the Inhul Catacomb culture. The 3rd millennium BC

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A battle axe-hammer of the Catacomb culture. The 3rd millennium BC

The bearers of the Donets and Inhul Catacomb cultures distinguished themselves in the sign creation in a special way. In addition, the bearers of the Yamna culture also used a small range of such signs. We can speak not only about a certain range of signs which were equally understandable for the bearers of the Catacomb culture who roamed in the area of Kryvyi Rih and Luhansk, but also about general rules of the use of these signs. Of course, they can’t be compared with Trypillian diversity which amounted to hundreds of signs, but the process itself was probably developed in a similar way in that epoch. The main thing is that at the times of the bearers of the Catacomb culture there were quite a lot of places where they already used written language, although these places were rather remote – in Anatolia, in Crete and most of all in Egypt and in Mesopotamia. The geography of the possible sources of the acquaintance of the bearers of the Catacomb culture with written language is suggested by both the finds of imports (faience necklaces from the Near East) and an exotic rite of “modeling skulls” which is similar to the Egyptian customs of mummification of the dead. Researchers also paid attention to the custom of applying signs on not only “eternal materials”, but also on the skin, felt; they also correlate with the tradition of writing on parchment and papyrus to a certain extent. Steppe wise men hardly mastered the hieroglyphs of Egypt or even the

Collected and systemized by S.Zh. Pustovalov

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Vessels of the Inhul Catacomb culture with signs. The 3rd millennium BC

cuneiform of Mesopotamia to a full extent at that time. However, probably they didn’t need it – their ancestors’ range of signs was enough for speaking with local gods. Nonetheless, there aren’t any excess and unnecessary means in the magical arsenal. As the sphere of the use of signs and the circle of people who knew them was most likely limited to priests, chiefs and especially close persons who were initiated into the sacrament. So, the basis of signs of a later Timber-grave culture couldn’t start and most likely didn’t start from scratch. A considerable number of later signs of the Timber-grave culture really have analogs in the system of the bearers of the Catacomb culture. So, the continuation of an ancient tradition is quite possible. In any case, the invention and mastering of written language to the fullest extent on the territory of the Land in the early Bronze Age most likely never succeeded. It’s a great pity because the presence of local archives could facilitate the work of modern historians to a considerable extent. Signs on the vessels of the Inhul Catacomb culture. The 3rd millennium BC

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The bottom part of a vessel of the Catacomb culture decorated with a multi-ray star. The 3rd millennium BC

Section 9

To the North from Mycenae abundant in gold he 2nd millennium BC is the time of the flourishing of other tribes. In every of the natural zones of the Land there was its own life. Part of people lived in the steppe and just like before they built mounds, however, they buried their dead mainly in timber graves (in some places in stone boxes). That’s why this archeological culture is called “timber-grave”. Then grain growers settled down next to them in the steppe. Archeologists called their culture “Sabatynivka”, after the name of a village on the Southern Bug where these antiquities had been excavated for the first time. The forest-steppe area returns to the previous limits, it was occupied by grain growers again and in the forests you could still meet the descendants of hunters of the Neolithic Age. However, the Land was not a backwater area at all and its residents became participants of not only the European economy, but also the politics including the one which is connected with states the names of which are well known to us from the history of the Ancient World – Egypt, Mycenae…

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The political map of the late Bronze Age It’s worth noting that the landscapes of that time greatly differed both from the spreading of the steppe in the 3rd millennium BC and from the climatic demarcation of the past century. A more humid and warm (compared to the previous centuries) climate after 1500 BC became a reason for a reduction of the territory of the steppe to a minimum. Almost all the south of Ukraine appeared to be occupied by the forest-steppe. And the forest strip confidently spread from the north to the central regions of Ukraine inclusive. At that time the territory of the Land was inhabited by representatives of three cultural groups the way of life of which depended on the regional natural conditions. In the south-western zones of the presentday steppes there lived the bearers of the

Sabatynivka culture, the representatives of the timbergrave culture lived rather close to them. If the economy of the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture was built on grain growing, the representatives of the timber-grave culture continued the tradition of the ancient nomads. The climate contributed to the expansion of grain growers that’s why the density of the population in some districts of the South might as well be compared with the present one.

The map of the spreading of cultural communities of the late Bronze Age. The 2nd millennium BC

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Pottery from excavations of the settlements of the Trzciniec culture. The 2nd millennium BC

Dozens of Sabatynivka settlements have been studied, some of them can be called towns with confidence. According to some experts, their development and the quality of buildings were not inferior to the mentioned above Troy in any way – the same stone foundations, wattle and daub walls and roofs covered with sod. The settlements of the Pottery of the Babynska (or Multi-Cylinder Pottery Culture). The beginning of the 2nd millennium BC

bearers of the timber-grave culture looked more modest, but they also sometimes used stone during construction – of course, where there were lots of stones. In northern forests and the forest-steppe the so-called Trzciniec culture was formed. The territory of its extension went rather far beyond the borders of Ukraine in the West. Scientists in Ukraine and Poland still argue whether it was a whole culture or some epoch of cultural unity. Its bearers, having adapted the knowledge of their ancestors for new conditions, relying on this experience, created forms of economic management which were ideally suited to the environment. Small settlements amounting to two or three hundred residents were situated deep in a forest area or on Archeological excavations of the remains of a sanctuary and a settlement of the timber-grave culture on the island Khortytsia

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Section 9. To the North from Mycenae abundant in gold A model of the dwelling of the Trzciniec culture. Reconstruction on the basis of the research of the settlement Pustynka on the Dnieper

A model of the sanctuary of the Trzciniec culture. Reconstruction on the basis of the research of the settlement Pustynka on the Dnieper

Pottery from excavations of the settlements of the timber-grave culture. The 2nd millennium BC

banks of small rivers. This allowed them, without any fears to be attacked, to grow grain on plots of land where the forest had been burnt out, to pasture cattle on glades, to go fishing, to hunt game, to pick mushrooms, berries and honey. They made vessels of clay by hand and decorated them with a simple carved ornament. Instruments were mainly made of flint, stone and bones of animals. They continued to make sickles of flint, although they received the

sizes and shapes of certain metal prototypes. Few bronze products were found. Mainly these were adornments. Especially beautiful massive bracelets with ends bent in a spiral. According to some researchers, already at that time all the main features of the future Proto-Slavic culture were finally formed in the north forests. All types of buildings which are characteristic of the Ukrainian villages of the forest zone were found in Trzciniec settlements. And the way of life and the way of economic management, for instance in Volhynia, remained the same as three or four thousand years ago till the middle of the last century. Volhynia is connected with one more interesting point. Researches show that in this region an ancient

Reconstruction of a settlement of the Trzciniec culture near the village of Pustynka according to the results of archeological researches

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes anthropological type the formation of which is dated almost to the times of the Trypillian culture was preserved the most fully. The surrounding untrodden forests and swamps brought any technological advantages of the enemy’s army to naught at all times. Chariots, cavalry and later tanks couldn’t pass in the local thickets, and it was much easier to fight with infantry with certain knowledge of the territory. Accordingly, the residents of that region having avoided numerous invasions which are characteristic of the central and southern regions managed to preserve certain cultural and economic traditions from the most ancient times.

Ancient cooperation Representatives of the three above mentioned cultures interacted quite closely. In Trzciniec settlements they found not only products, but also casting forms of neighbors, which suggests the existence of local “subsidiaries” of bronze foundry production that were brought nearer to consumers as much as possible. In principle, we can speak about the existence of a kind of an economic complex which was founded on mutual benefit.

Vessels of the Trzciniec and timber-grave cultures. The 2nd millennium BC

Agricultural production of the residents of the North and the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture could effectively provide food for almost the whole region. At that time arable farming was spreading everywhere and due to climatic and soil peculiarities its effectiveness on the territory of the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture was higher than in forest areas.

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Besides metal sickles in the late Bronze Age sickles made of flint were also widely spread

In few steppes nomads pastured cattle and the control over the centers of metallurgical production which was built practically on an industrialized basis, strengthened their economic power to a considerable extent. And the lack of something could always be made up with the help of a small victorious war with neighbors.

Who traded in amber with Mycenae? Ancient warriors brought from distant and near lands not only a good haul, but also new knowledge, technologies and fashion for certain adornments and weapons. In the Bronze Age the territory of the Land was an integral part of the ancient world. This, in its turn, was reflected in intensive international trade. Who hasn’t heard of Mycenae abundant in gold, the capital of the powerful kingdom of the Achaeans, which was glorified by Homer and discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in the 19th century? But few people, except experts, know that the legendary owners of this remote land couldn’t do without some beautiful things from the North, especially without the “sun stone”, amber. It appears that this stone was either excavated in the Land at that time (as even now amber deposits are extracted here) or transported to the South through its territory from the Baltic states. In any case, massive amber necklaces Gold adornments from the burial places of the Hordiivka mound. The 2nd millennium BC

Section 9. To the North from Mycenae abundant in gold

Specimens of adornments of the late Bronze Age which were found on the territory of the Land. The 2nd millennium BC

reached not only the towns on the shore of warm southern seas, but even islands in the Mediterranean Sea being a feast for the eye of wealthy people and adorning local fashion-conscious women. In exchange they sent gold products and good weapons from the South. By the way, the traces of these trade operations were found on the territory of the modern Vinnytsia region near the village of Hordiivka where in ancient times there was a Bug “amber route”. Here in the burial places of the elite they found objects which so to say open the epoch of gold treasures of the mounds of the Land – gold pendants, rings, bracelets, necklaces. The riches of graves suggest the flourishing of the amber business which contributed to the survival and prosperity of the local clan for a few hundred years till the beginning of the Early Iron Age! Necklaces of gold threads of beads and leaves, spiral bracelets curled in a fanciful way and rings – all this can be seen at the exposition of the Vinnytsia regional local history museum.

Copper of Bakhmut and Kartamysh The Eastern steppes and mineral resources of the Donets Basin in the second millennium BC were controlled by representatives of the local group of the bearers of the timber-grave culture. At that time the volume of the production of metal and the products of the metalworking production on the whole increased greatly. Entire settlements appear; the residents of these settlements are engaged either in ore extraction or in metal smelting and metalwork. In the last decade intensive researches within the bounds of the so-called Donetsk mining complex began. Its raw materials base covered the Bakhmut and Kartamysh deposits1. Both the ore stock of different quality and the scales of its extraction were very considerable. Only in the area of the present-day village named Chervone Ozero they found 4 ancient mines. The population which is dated by archeologists to the Berezhnyovka1

A furnace for melting bronze, modern castings of daggers and axes according to ancient models

On the territory of the present Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes the timber-grave culture. Perhaps this way our Land will Maivka timber-grave culture worked here. As modern again become an exporter and not an importer of copper mining experts took part in the excavations, they managed raw materials or products of copper in three thousand to reconstruct the picture of the work of ancient miners years? with great precision and the most important thing is that Ancient miners crushed the rock with the help of they managed to understand stone hammers to small pieces and washed it in water, how, what and then they selected the raw materials and sent them to the why everything melting furnace. The output of the finished metal, just like was done. before, didn’t exceed a few percent as compared to Mining operathe weight of the ore extracted with hard work. tions started with disasThe research of the origin of mining opersembling weathered sandations in the Donets Basin is only at stones. Where the open pit minthe very beginning. There are ing was used, the slopes were reinall the grounds to say that forced with dead rock. Mining operabearers of the timtions were also carried out with the use of ber-grave culture prospect holes. They also found ancient managed to reach instruments – hacks made of the ribs of not only the copper ore, but animals, stone hammers and mattocks. also organized the extracAncient miners reached the depth of tion of some other min25–30 meters which was probably eral resources including the limit for that epoch. Why the Products of casters cinnabar, lead, tin and limit? Because in the times of the and smiths of the timber-grave culture. maybe even gold. All this timber-grave culture they had no nd (and a lot of other useful pumps to pump out water from very deep work- The 2 millennium BC things in addition) is ings. However, next to mines they found traces of present in the deposits of the complex ore ancient artificial basins. It means that ancient miners tried which were prospected here. to get rid of water by means of methods which were The metal melted from known and accessible for them. In one of the galleries ore was sent to settlements archeologists found burial places of miners. Traces of the residents of which were ancient sacrifices were also found there. engaged in casting useful Further to the south of the mine they found a settlethings. One of such settlement of ancient miners, its excavations have already startments with a beautiful name ed. It was also determined that the ore extracted from the Usove Ozero (in the presentgallery was transported to special sites where “manual ore day Donetsk region) was beneficiation” was carried out by means of choosing the excavated in the 1970s–1980s best pieces. A lot of metal remained in the dump. By the way, it is still there. The selection was not very strict that’s of the 20th century. The remains why even now the ancient dump attracts present-day busiof a few big dugouts with open nessmen and modern miners hearths were researched2. are thinking of how One of the dwellings to pull this tasty was 10×12 m in size and morsel from the was deepened in the ground copper “pie” of for 1.2 m from the ancient the bearers of surface. The walls of the

Vessels from a burial place of the timber-grave culture. The 2nd millennium BC Casting forms for products of bronze made of stone. The 2nd millennium BC

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You can get more detailed information in the monograph by S.S. Berezanska, see the references to the section.

Section 9. To the North from Mycenae abundant in gold A crucible and a fragment of a ladle which were found during excavations of a settlement of the Trzciniec culture. The 2nd millennium BC

districts where they didn’t have their own reserves of copper, for example, on the territory of the present-day Kyiv region. Most likely the production was controlled by the wealthiest clans of the nomads which preserved the usual way of life.

A form for casting axes-celts and specimens of such axes. The 2nd millennium BC

trench were timbered. The ground roof was supported by a few rows of posts. Four hearths heated the room and in one of them they found objects which were connected with foundry production. So, a dwelling and a workshop were not only under the same roof, but also in one room. During excavations researchers found a big number of bones of horned cattle – perhaps this is how customers paid to craftsmen-casters. In abandoned dwellings of Usove Ozero they found numerous fragments of casting forms. At that time besides clay forms they also started using forms which were cut out of soft stone. Such matrixes were more durable and could bear more castings. In addition, the quality of products which were casted in such forms was higher. Being effortful products, stone forms were valued highly; probably that’s why a few Pictograms and buried treasures of this signs on vessels of equipment were found. the timber-grave Ingots of bronze and culture. The 2nd finished products – agriculmillennium BC tural instruments, weapons, adornments, objects of domestic life were widely exported beyond the borders of the region. The production of metal products flourished even in distant

“Linear timber-grave” writing? Four thousand years ago the civilized world for more than ten centuries had been using written language which had become a rather old and widely spread invention at that time. In general the residents of the Land were already familiar with this achievement as numerous contacts with the civilized world brought not only material benefit. An intensive information, ideological and cultural exchange was made. Not only speaking with mighty gods, but also developed production and trade required certain accounting and order. Now they have already found a sufficient amount of proofs which

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes tive version of the events described in the Iliad and the Odyssey. As there were times when not too far away – in the Balkans, in Mycenae abundant in gold and in Pylos they used written language keeping accounting records of the palace household articles on clay plates.

The end of the idyll of the Bronze Age It seemed that in the late Bronze Age the idyll had finally been achieved. The number of the residents of the Land increased to an unprecedented scale. The grain growers developed the territories which had been accessible only for undemanding nomads before. The Land provided itself with grain, meat, and metal and “Timber-grave writing” on vessels. The 2nd millennium BC grew rich on transit trade with the advanced civ(According to V.V. Otroshchenko) ilizations of Europe and the East. It seemed that a little more time and big, rich, flourishing towns, states would appear here, they would be governed allow suggesting that the bearers of the timber-grave culby powerful rulers and wise priests would surely assure ture and the Sabatynivka culture and even their north eternal mercy of Gods for the Land. But the dependence neighbors had something like written language. They of the ancient economy on environmental conditions once found about two hundred short “inscriptions” most likeagain gradually but steadily led to another economic ly of a dedicatory character which were scratched on the decay. It happened in the last quarter of the 2nd millenniwalls found during excavations of vessels and other products. um BC. The climate became much drier. “Much drier” Written on blue clay before burning, in most cases means that the level of the Dnieper in the 10th century BC they are composed of the same, sometimes different signs. became almost the lowest for the whole history of the The latter which are very similar to linear writing attract existence of this big and always full-flowing river. the most attention of the researchers. It’s worth noting that Under these conditions grain growing in the steppe some signs were also inherited from previous epochs. strip lost its effectiveness. The Sabatynivka culture Attempts were made to decode, read these ancient signs. decayed and disappeared. Hundreds of its settlements Some researchers think that they had distinguished names were replaced by few settlements of the Bilozersk culof gods among them, others – inscriptions in honor of ture the residents of which survived obviously not thanks gods. Well, the way of making these to grain growing, but thanks to roaming signs and the use pottery which was along river valleys. But where could mainly found in burial places for such a numerous population go? applying them do not contradict Since mass graves of the bearers of this approach and the made the Sabatynivka culture who conclusions on the whole. died of starvation haven’t However, it seems been found yet, it only that even now there aren’t remains to assume that enough data to solve this they (or part of them) manmystery of the late Bronze aged to go somewhere after Age. Perhaps some day we all. But where? will be able to find out both the names of ancient peoples, “Horned spindle whorl” their gods, details of their life and of the Trzciniec culture. even, everything happens, the alternaThe 2nd millennium BC

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Section 10

Contemporaries of Majestic Ilion he Sabatynivka culture, bearers of the Sabatynivka culture, these words are formed after the name of a village in the Kirovohrad region of Ukraine which is situated on the bank of the Southern Bug. It is quite possible that in ancient chronicles these people could be called in a different way. The scenes of battles and inscriptions made on the walls of temples of distant Egypt brought to our days information about “The Sea People”, fierce rivals, who gave a lot of trouble to powerful and invincible “sons of the god Ra”. And there are certain grounds to believe that in the valley of the Nile these “The Sea People” appeared together with other strangers from the steppes of Northern Black Sea region. Moreover, the traces of the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture were found in the history of the Trojan War. The mentioned above events occurred more than three thousand years ago.

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Chariots attack! According to many historians and archeologists, the second millennium BC was distinguished with numerous battles with the use of battle chariots. Made of wood with the use of the minimum metal parts which were fastened with leather belts in some places, these technological innovations appeared to be a revolution in the military science which can be compared only with the appearance of tanks on the fields of the First World War. It is understood that the owners of such weapons could get some advantage at the beginning. After so many years it is practically not possible to determine now the names and the country of the origin of the inventors of the new type of weapons, however, in the shortest possible time battle chariots were added to the armory almost by all the civilizations of that time – from China to North Africa. The most vivid example of the advantage of the new tactics is the enslavement by the tribes of the Hyksos of one of the mightiest (at that time) superpower Egypt. The drilled, well armed and numerous Egyptian army couldn’t resist swift blows of light gigs with warriors in carriages who sowed death among the hostile warriors with the help of a barrage of arrows. Thereby they managed to break the battle formation of the enemy and then to finish a demoralized crowd with the help of spears at a close distance. It took Egyptians about one hundred years to cast off the hated yoke of the invaders. However, having freed themselves from the political dependence, they adopted the new tactics from “barbarians” which was based on the use of chariots. Starting with that time, they begin to portray Egyptian pharaohs on chariots.

From that moment every respected kingdom of the Far East had battle chariots in its arsenal. Some local rulers hired barbarians who were good at breeding horses and wise men wrote down their instructions in treatises. For the purpose of war they also often recruited mercenaries from similar barbarians who were good at fighting on chariots. And they were given military equipment and weapons from the king’s arsenal. In those ancient times the principles of the political and economic suitability in the international politics were used in their original form. “Zones of interests” were just captured with the use of force and wealthy neighbors were considered to be a source of material benefits and in order to get them they didn’t need mutually beneficial trade contacts at all. It was enough to have an efficient army. Even the state of pharaohs which usually pursued an aggressive foreign policy was not guaranteed now from the attacks of smaller, poorer, but bellicose tribes which could gather the necessary number of warriors and chariots for a campaign. One of the contenders for the possession of the fabulous wealth of “the Black Land” in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC was numerous tribes which were rather skilful at war and which received the name of “The Sea People” in Egyptian inscriptions.

The bearers of the Sabatynivka culture and “The Sea People” Having defeated the Hyksos, a few hundred years later Egyptians faced a new misfortune – “The Sea People”. A few pharaohs waged wars with invaders who

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes For a few centuries all battles in the East were the battles between chariots. The one who had more such “tanks” in the field won. The pharaoh acted exactly according to this rule. But part of his rivals had unusual weapons and used unexpected tactics. The details of their equipage can be seen well on ancient Egyptian reliefs: a short wide bronze sword (a kind of a prototype of the Roman gladius), a small round shield, two spears, a bow, darts, leather armor, helmets sometimes decorated with crests or horns. In other words, a great equipage for a fight in a closed dismounted order. Some time later the Hellen Hoplites, warriors of the phalanx of Alexander III of Macedon, Roman legionaries will be armed in the same way. However, probably for the first time the tactics of fighting a battle which allows letting chariots through the battle arrays and having closed files cutting the infantry from them was used by “The Sea People”. By the way, the specimens of the described above weapons were also found on the territory of the Land. There is nothing strange in it for experts. As representatives of the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture, according to some archeologists, could be connected directly with many events which were described and portrayed on walls of the temples in ancient Egypt. According to ancient sources, “The Sea People” included the legendary Achaeans and the Denyens (it is quite possible that the name is connected with Indo-Iranian hydronyms of the Don, the Dnieper, the Danube), the Sherdens Sabatynivka culture and invasion of “The Sea People” who finished their roams in the Mediterranean on the island called after their tribal name – Sardinia and a persistently tried to penetrate into the fertile country on lot of other tribes and clans whose names have been erased the banks of the Nile. Egypt won all these wars. from the memory for the last millenniums. “Disdained” and In memory of the victory and heroic deeds of the “dirty”, according to Egyptians, these barbarians were disEgyptian weapons and first of all the supreme commandtinguished with perfect military skills. er the Pharaoh, episodes from the victorious wars and appropriate inscriptions were made on stone walls of big temples. The most ancient battle (and also described by Egyptians with the most details) near Kadesh was a clash of the army of the pharaoh with the forces which included warriors of “The Sea People”. Disputes about its results still continue because it is not quite clear whether Egyptians won it or they just attributed this victory to themselves, especially taking into account that their rivals didn’t leave any information about it. But even judging by a rather preconceived (according to researchers) story about the battle heroic deeds of the pharaoh Ramesses II, you can see that sometimes “barbarians” could quite Warriors of “The Sea People” reflected on the walls of Egypt temples effectively resist the best Egyptian forces.

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Section 10. Contemporaries of Majestic Ilion a rather numerous, well armed, trained and organized contingent of professional warriors within the framework of the grain growing culture. The bearers of the Sabatynivka culture, judging by the finds, managed to organize mass production of bronze points for spears, darts, swords and daggers and also some other equipage. Every warrior from the steppes of Black Sea region had a set of weapons which was worthy of an army of any country of the ancient East1. But the use of such a The battle of Egyptian army with invaders — “The Sea People”. The image on the wall of the temple set of weapons makes sense only under the condition of a certain formation and this requires constant drills, the training of The difficulties with the use of battle chariots interactions, in other words, a serious against “The Sea People” which Egyptians faced can be step towards a professional and rather explained in a simple way: the strangers were well numerous army. familiar with this super weapon of the ancient East and had well drilled “anti-chariot” tactics. An indirect proof of it is the initial spreading of chariots in steppes in the direction of the East, which might not be accidental. Obviously, the way of the ancient steppe chariot riders – representatives of the timbergrave culture to the West of Europe was probably blocked by the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture (or by their ancestors). They had a sufficient number of skilled warriors and methods which had been developed to fight the new type of military “equipment”. The reason for our attention to the international condition and the development of the military science in the 2nd millennium BC is rather simple. At that time a phenomenon appeared on the territory of Ukraine which Warriors of the determined the future destiny of Sabatynivka the residents of this Land to a culture. Graphic great extent for the next dozens reconstruction of centuries. We are speaking (According to V.I.Klochko) about the possibility of creating 1

You can find more details about the weapons of the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture and their military history in the book:

В. І. Клочко Озброєння та військова справа давнього населення України. — К., 2006. — С. 175—264 (V.I. Klochko Weapons

and the military science of the ancient population of Ukraine). However, not all experts agree with the opinion of V.I. Klochko regarding the participation of the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture in campaigns of “The Sea People”. See the review by I. Kobal:

Клочко В. І. Озброєння та військова справа давнього населення України (5000—900 до Р.Х.). — К., 2005. // Записки наукового товариства імені Шевченка. — Т. ССLIII. — С. 736—737 (V.I. Klochko. Weapons and the military science of the

ancient population of Ukraine (5000—900 BC). — K., 2005. // The notes of the Shevchenko scientific community).

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A shield and the bronze swords of bearers of the Sabatynivka culture (According to V.I.Klochko)

However, it is difficult to keep a professional army in peace time; such a step is always connected with considerable material expenses. No matter what goal its creators set, sooner or later they will have to solve financial questions. For all the times they have been solved in two ways. Warriors made a raid with the purpose of getting some spoils from their neighbors or to offer services as mercenaries. In reality, as a rule, they combined the two ways. One interesting type of a bronze product of the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture can be one of the traces of ancient campaigns. In some surprising way it resembles an ancient Egyptian symbol of life, Ankh – a cross with a loop. They also found not only finished products of different sizes, but also even stone casting forms. The latter suggests both the local production and rather big demand for adornments among the local fashion-conscious women. Perhaps the people of the Sabatynivka culture managed to have fights not only with Egyptians. As the way from their native steppes to the borders of the state of pharaohs is rather long. At that time along this way there were a lot of wealthy settlements and even more prosperous towns which were independent or subordinated to some kingdom. For instance, legendary Troy was on this way. For now during the excavations of this legendary city they found rather conspicuous proofs of the participation of the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture in the famous Trojan War. The casting mould and the bronze manufactures of Sabatynivka culture, which resemble the symbol from the far Egypt – ankh, cross of eternity, the symbol of eternal life 2

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From the wall of “Dykyi Sad” to the walls of Troy Who hasn’t heard of the Trojan War? Numerous forces of the Achaeans came in plenty of ships to its impregnable walls which had been built by the hands of the Olympic gods. In the poem by Homer there is a list of how many and from where the ships and warriors came, the long-forgotten names of rulers, the names of peoples, towns and countries were indicated. Nonetheless, scientists still argue about where some of the named peoples lived and where their countries were situated. As a rule, each of the mentioned above detachments came from the territory which was subordinated to a ruler whose residence was situated in a fortified city. Among them are Argos, Tiryns, Pylos and finally Mycenae. But were there any towns in Black Sea region and on the territory of the Land in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC? It appears that there were settlements which looked like towns (if compared, for example, with the territory of Greece) and more than one. All in all more than 1,000 settlements of the Sabatynivka culture are known now. So, the Land looked rather densely populated and capable of offering more than one hundred warriors and more than one ship. There are grounds to think that some of the local rulers could probably, according to the military potential, measure swords, for example, with the cunning and wise Odyssey. Its estate on the island Ithaca was hardly bigger than the one which was built by his contemporary unknown to Homer – the master of the ancient settlement which is situated on the territory of the present-day city Mykolaiv on the bank of the estuary of the Southern Bug River. This city was included into works on archeology with quite a modern name: “Dykyi Sad (Wild Garden)”2. However, probably we will never know how this ancient city was called in the language of the people who founded a fortress and a city here more than thirty hundred years ago. Although researchers have already suggested identifying it with the same “city of Cimmerian men” discussed in the section which describes the travel of the same cunning and wise Odysseus to the distant part of the world3. On a high cape situated over the Bug estuary during excavation they found the remains of an ancient settlement which had been founded by the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture. In the area of about 3 hectares (and the ancient settlement was much bigger before) there are fragments of a citadel, fortifications and buildings; ancient burial places were also found. They found quite a big ditch (5 m wide and 2 m deep), the remains of a small wall of adobe on a stone foundation. A bridge on stone

К. В. Горбенко, Ю. С. Гребенников «Дикий Сад» археологический памятник XIII—IX вв. до н.э. — ровесник Трои. — Николаев, 2007. (K.V. Gorbenko, Yu. S. Grebennikov “Dykyi Sad”, the archeological monument of the 13th–the 9th centuries BC,

the contemporary of Troy). “The Odyssey”, XI, 10—15.

Section 10. Contemporaries of Majestic Ilion

Bearers of the Sabatynivka culture and Trojan War

counterforts was built over the ditch; the remains of the counterforts were found by archeologists during excavations “almost in their original condition”. Ancient architects used stone to build dwellings and other constructions; stones were used in foundations under walls which were built of adobe blocks. Researchers have already made a successful attempt to reconstruct one of such dwellings on the site of excavations. The construction materials used here were the same as in widely known Troy — Ilion, but the scales were more modest. The ancient settlement Dykyi Sad was practically of the same size as the citadel of “the city of king Priam”, but the strength of fortifications was inferior to it to a great extent. The residents of the town over the estuary were engaged in grain growing, pasturing cattle. Craftsmen including casters who made not only adornments, but also weapons also lived here. The fragments of the corresponding casting forms were found in the cultural layer. The vicinity of the estuary and the sea also allows assuming the presence of a port. It is quite possible that one beautiful sunny day, more than thirty centuries ago ships with warriors armed, according to Homer, with “deadly copper” (by the way, of the local production) set off from this port to the walls of distant Troy after making appropriate sacrifices. So, we have the right place; it only remains to find the traces of the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture somewhere 4

under the walls of Troy or Bronze spearpointsnd of the end of 2 among its ruins. However, the millennium BC camp of the Achaeans who had waged the war for the city for ten years (if you believe the poems) was not found till now. If the siege really lasted that long, archeologists should have found some traces of this camp – at least thanks to mountains of garbage which were supposed to appear for such a long time. As heroes used not only gold, but also ceramic vessels, to say nothing about plenty of animal bones – because a good soldier must eat only meat. Although as far back as 150 years not everybody believed not only in the fact that the Trojan War really had taken place, but even in the fact of the existence of Troy itself (true, there are still those who doubt it). It’s worth taking into account that archeologists are still studying the ruins of the city the excavation of which were started by Heinrich Schliemann. It was determined that its territory was not limited to the monumental citadel the remains of which had been discovered in the subsoil of a high hill in the 19th century. The city was extended to quite a big territory of dozens of hectares beyond the borders of the strength of Priam4. A question arises: on whose side could the warriors from Dykyi Sad fight under the walls of the great city? Among the ruins of Troy they found a point of an arrow which had been discharged during the siege. There are also bone and bronze ones among them. Some of them resemble products from the arsenal of Sabatynivka archers. However, ammunition for small arms of that time was rather international according to their types. Nonetheless the finds of casting forms for points of arrows make it possible also to assume their local production – as the participation of the people of the Sabatynivka culture in the siege of Troy looks quite probable. There are finds which are, so to say, more diagnostic. On the ruins of the once wealthy and majestic city of the late Bronze Age (i.e. of the times of the Trojan War) they found the traces of dwellings which had been built after the fire which is attributed to legendary events (the so-called layer VIIb which is dated to the period between 1260–1190 BC). It seems that at first sight everything is clear: the survived residents of Troy, having got over, restored dwellings after the enemy left. However, some peculiarities of the construction of these buildings, to be more exact foundations, do not fit into the ancient local building tradition and some techniques of their construction have no analogs in the neighborhood. At the same time something extremely similar

Manfred Korfmann Troia in the Light of New Research. Trier. 2003. — 70 p.

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Troy: city reconstruction, finds of bronze arrowheads and the modern view of ruins of the citadel

was found during the excavations of the settlements of the Sabatynivka culture. It is there that the similar techniques of stonework were studied. Thus, it is quite possible that it was the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture that after the victory “won the competition” to reconstruct Troy? It is hardly so, however, it is quite possible that some group of veterans of the victorious campaign settled down in this blessed place. Besides the fragments of vessels they also found pottery here which is similar to the one of distant Northern Black Sea region. Among them there were twohand goblets which are known thanks to the excavations in the Sabatynivka settlements5. On the territory of the Odessa region, in the village Goblets for the feasts: the gold cup was found in Kryzhovlin village of Odessa region and its ceramic original made by bearers of the Sabatynivka culture

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of Kryzhovlin they accidentally found a gold cup which was similar to those clay goblets. A ruler, even the great Agamemnon or the wise Nestor, wouldn’t be ashamed to drink wine from such a vessel. And the cunning and wise Odysseus used to “…take a two-hand cup and drink the unfading”6. According to scientists, the Kryzhovlin cup was made somewhere in the Balkans. What is this – a diplomatic gift, payment for support or maybe ancient spoils of war? Taking into account the possibilities of the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture, any variant can be considered probable. An assumption that near home hearths in the distant city of “the Cimmerian men” over the Bug estuary songs about the Trojan War could be heard does not look that impossible now any more. Perhaps these songs described the distant campaign, cruel battles under the walls of the great city, how part of the participants of the campaign decided to settle down in the distant land and those who returned brought rich spoils with them including a gold two-hand cup and in their joy, celebrating their coming back they “drank the unfading”… And Dykyi Sad (or how it was called by local residents then) founded as far back as the 13th century BC really survived to the Cimmerian times, i.e. the 10th–9th century BC. It is confirmed by finds obtained during excavations. Among them it’s worth paying attention to psalia made of bone – an element of the horse harness which was similar to those which were used by ferocious horse warriorsCimmerians. And part of these psalia was made in the very ancient settlement the residents of which could also be horse warriors this way. True, these finds are already related to the final period of its history. So, the descendants of the veterans of the Trojan War from Dykyi Sad (or how it was called then) might as well take part in similar distant campaigns of Cimmerians a few hundred years later.

Nonetheless, similar vessels were found in continental Greece as well – probably some bearers of the Sabatynivka culture got even there? More details in: И.Т. Черняков Связи сабатиновских племен СевероЗападного Причерноморья с Восточным Средиземноморьем (по керамическим находкам) // Северное Причерноморье. — К., 1984. — С. 34—42. (I.T. Chernyakov The connections of Sabatynivka tribes of North-West Black Sea region with the Eastern Mediterranean (on the basis of ceramic finds) // Northern Black Sea region). “The Odyssey”, VIII, 89.

Section 11

The times of “long swords” he epoch which started with the clatter of battle chariots ended with the echo of the hoofs of horse hordes of new invaders. Their name was well known to Hellenes. And not only to them, but also to Assyrians, Phoenicians, the residents of Babylon and a lot of other countries the names of which we can only guess now. Mainly starting from this time our land acquired in Europe a reputation of the country with bellicose horse barbarians for long centuries. Even in the 20th century literary men used their ancient name Cimmerians in an appropriate way. Everything started in the steppes. The main summary of the climatic fluctuations of the end of the 2nd millennium BC is that steppes spread between the Danube and the Dnister again. And their survived residents returned to a nomadic way of life. This is how Cimmerians, the people of warriors-horsemen, came to the history and legends. Who are they, what nourished their destructive aggression the traces of which are tracked by archeologists from the northern borders of Mesopotamia in the South to Central Europe in the East?

T

The “heroes” of the ancient chronicles For obvious reasons not so many written sources which could describe the events of the beginning of the first millennium BC have survived to this day. Assyrian, Babylonian records, the works of the “father of history” – Herodotus and finally the most ancient biblical texts… All

of them mention a people who came from distant steppes. In the Bible they are called “a people whose quivers were full of deadly arrows”. Herodotus called them Cimmerians and the Assyrian plates brought even the names of their chiefs and detachment commanders of “the people of Gamirra” – Teushpa Ligdames, Shandakshatra (the word kshatra means a warrior, so together we have Shanda–warrior). The Land in the times of Cimmerians, the 9th–the 7th century BC. The legend: 1–3 – hill forts, populated areas and the places where treasures were found and their present-day names; 4 – the names of archeological cultures and peoples (which are known from written sources)

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes glimmer of life in settlements, especially in the ones which were fortified. So, the ancient settlement Dykyi Sad, “the town of Cimmerian men”, remained the center of the neighborhood just like before. Craftsmen lived behind its fortifications. But new products appeared among those which were made by them: parts of the horse harness. And not just for controlling a horse, but also for effective control of a battle horse. The finds of pivots cut out of ordinary bone with three holes which at first sight look quite plain (they are called psalia) are a material proof of the presence of a horse sub-unit in the ancient settlement. Some psalia are broken due to holes through which leather belts were passed. It is quite clear – bone is not a solid material. But psalia of the same construction were already casted of bronze or even forged of metal at that time. In combination with some of the novelties and techniques of training horses these plain products influenced the future history of the Land and its outskirts – both near and distant ones, in a considerable way. Psalia are an important part of the system of the control of battle horses, which is the most important invention of the Cimmerian Age. Products of bone and their analogs which are cast in bronze. Finds from the burial places of steppe warriors and from the settlements of “peaceful” grain growers. The 9th– the 7th century BC

At the turn of the 2nd–the 1st millennium BC the next climatic changes including drought (at that time the Dnieper had the lowest level of water for the whole history) led to the final decay of grain growing in the steppe. Nonetheless, the territory which was freed due to drought was of no special value even for the nomadic community any more. The tribes which lived there left antiquities of the so-called Bilozerske culture. Judging by the findings of the excavations, this community was not numerous at all and it seems that it was doomed to lead a miserable life waiting for better times. There was still a

Innovations of the Cimmerian Age So, first Cimmerians and their neighbors improved the horse harness. The modernized bridle with metal psalia and bit allowed controlling a horse much better. Probably it’s the Cimmerians who became the founders of a new branch of the armed forces – cavalry, to be more

An image of Cimmerian warriors on an ancient sarcophagus, near the middle of the 1st millennium BC. Pay attention to long swords in the hands of horsemen

exact – horse archers. According to one of the versions, the very word “Cimmerians” can be translated as “a horse detachment”. Reliable control of a horse gave a rider an advantage both over dismounted warriors and over chariots – the main shock means of that time. However, appropriate weapons

A “Cimmerian” sword, a find from the Subotiv ancient settlement (the Chornoliska culture) – a military trophy or a sacrifice? The end of the 9th–the beginning of the 8th century BC

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Section 11. The times of “long swords” Bronze points of arrows of Cimmerians and horse archers with bows, the 8th–the 7th century BC

are necessary to realize this advantage. A long, more than one meter, iron sword and a bow with arrows equipped with metal points were added to the armory. Light, maneuverable riders covered the enemy with clouds of arrows. Bronze cast points easily pierced leather and felt armor. Cimmerian cavalrymen could concentrate fire on the hostile infantry and chariots at a distance of 50–100 m. Everything seems to be simple: to put archers on horsebacks – and here are horse archers. But this simplicity is sham. The problem here is not even in the people, but in horses. A horse was supposed to be trained in an appropriate way in order not to be frightened when a warrior who seats on its back shoots his bow. It seems that Cimmerians were one of the first who managed to solve this problem. And in the military science new techniques of the battle which are unknown and unexpected for the enemy are already guarantee of success. And when deadly arrows did their job and the formations of the enemy were rather broken, it was time for an attack: a long sword made it possible to successfully slash the dismounted enemy from a horse. Besides a sword, a horseman was also armed with a dagger. This is how a classical pair of blades similar to the set of knightly weapons of the Middle Ages was formed. The horsemen’s armory also included spears and axes.

By a dramatic twist of fate, the technology of ironwork which had been spread on the territory of Ukraine from the 10th century BC was brought here probably by the bearers of the Sabatynivka culture – veterans of the Trojan and other Near East wars. They had close contacts with the Hittite Kingdom where weapons of this metal had been made as far back as the 13th century BC. The descendants of the exporters of the strategic technology most likely became one of the victims of Cimmerians when they started their invasions to the borders of Asia. But this was not the only place where the population suffered from bellicose nomads. The first victims of the raids were the nearest neighbors.

To the North of Cimmeria If we call the steppe strip of Northern Black Sea region ancient “Cimmeria”, then to the North of it the life of local tribes was disturbed by great drought which had devastated regions further to the South, but didn’t decay completely. After the 10th century BC, if we take into account the number of new settlements, even “a population explosion” is observed here. In terms of cultures the picture looks quite diverse; it is somewhat similar to the situation of the late Bronze Age. The general view of ancient settlements of the Chornoliska culture: 1 – Subotiv, 2 – Tyasmyn; 3 – Yanych. The remains of ramparts, ditches and escarps are noticeable

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A vessel of the Chornoliska culture from the Subotiv ancient settlement. The Chornoliska culture, the 9th–the 8th century BC

For this period only between the Carpathians and the Dnieper a few archeological cultures created by grain growers are distinguished. Among them are Lusatian, Vysotska, Gava-Holigrady and Chornoliska cultures. Some of them are spread far beyond the borders of the Land. The representatives of this huge agricultural world, just like in ancient times, rather actively developed new territories in the East. In the motherland of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, near the village of Subotiv, they found the remains of fortifications and settlements of the bearers of the Chornoliska culture. And Chornyi Lis itself after which this culture was named was situated further to the South, so to say, right under the very nose of Cimmerians. The expansion of the Chornoliska culture is observed even in Livoberezhya where it reached the

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borders of the present-day Sumy and Poltava regions. It was the bearers of the Chornoliska culture who built the first dwellings and probably fortifications where some time later the biggest settlement of Eastern Europe would appear; this settlement was later described by the Hellen historian Herodotus as “the city Helonus”1. In Western Ukraine they also found systems of fortified ancient settlements of that time and also protection embankments with the length of dozens of kilometers. There are two main versions about what actually made the bearers of the Chornoliska culture and their western neighbors build whole “fortified districts”, apply great efforts to build immense lines of defense which in some places were not inferior to famous “Zmiyovy valy” of the Kyiv Land constructed in the times of the prosperity of Rus. On the one hand, it is commonly supposed that such ramparts which block the way along watersheds are first of all a serious barrier for the cavalry, the invasion of nomads. The main purpose of these fortifications is to save some time for the concentration of the forces and the evacuation of the peaceful population under the protection of ancient settlements. The creation of defense systems of a similar level allows expressing an opinion about the existence of the centralized leadership or at least accurate coordination of joint actions. A vivid proof of the prosperity and power of the forest-steppe rulers of that time is a treasure found in 1878 in a pasture in the village of Mykhalkiv in the Ternopil region. The total weight of gold products exceeded 7.5 kg. The treasure included a diadem which resembles a royal crown. This gold grown was made in the epoch of Cimmerian campaigns. Nothing similar has been found Gold products from the Mykhalkiv treasure. The 8th–the 7th millennium BC

Bilsk ancient settlement, you can find more details about it in section 16 – “The country of forgotten towns”.

Section 11. The times of “long swords” A “Cimmerian” sword, a steel blade about one meter long with a bronze handle. It was hidden twenty eight centuries ago together with a pair of bronze bracelets in the Subotiv ancient settlement. The weapons were in a sheath from which only a bronze buterol remained

Subotiv ancient settlement. So, horse raids might as well be organized by the nearest neighbors-grain growers against one another, to be more exact by their powerful rulers, such as the owner of the described above crown from Mykhalkiv. Indeed, war is a matter which is worthy of great kings. It is quite possible that in this period the social system which is known to us from the beginning of the Middle Ages was mainly formed. Small military-administrative clannish and tribal elite (kings – knyazes and boyars), “the middle class” – professional warriors (man-atarms – a prototype of knights), merchants and “ordinary people” (peasants – farmers and craftsmen).

The revival of Old Europe during excavations in steppe mounds so far. So, already then rather powerful (and prosperous) political unions headed by powerful and recognized rulers could exist to the North of the steppes. The military activity of Steppe tribes is traditionally connected with horse raids. However, the presence of strong fortifications in the center of the territories of “peaceful farmers” and the system of their location allow assuming the possibility of internal conflicts between separate ethnopolitical unions – chiefdoms. The finds of psalia during excavations in burial places and in ancient settlements of the Foreststeppe suggest that they were also familiar with a saddle horse. On the territory occupied by them they found bronze sets of a harness not only for a wheeled team, but also for a saddle horse. In addition, the weapons of the residents of ancient settlements were cast of bronze or forged of iron and they didn’t resemble toys at all. A steel “cimmerian sword” with the length of one meter which is widely known thanks to numerous exhibitions was found in 1972 not in a burial place of a steppe warrior, but in a “treasure” in the settlement of the bearers of the Chornoliska culture – in the

In the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age there was already a period when in a certain part of Europe high standards of the material and spiritual culture were established due to the expansion of grain growing tribes and appropriate technologies. In those ancient times the

This is how the north-west neighbors of the bearers of the Chornoliska culture – the residents of ancient settlements of the Lusatian culture could look like. Modern reconstruction of the clothes and adornments of the 8th–the 7th century BC. The archeological festival in the nature reserve in the Biskupin ancient settlement

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Fragments of pottery of the Chornoliska culture and of the so-called Zhabotynskyi type with a deepened ornament inlaid with white paste and a fragment with the traces of painting. The 8th–the 7th century BC

Trypillian culture was that part of Old Europe on the territory of the Land. If you take a close look at the antiquities of the European continent of the end of the Bronze Age – the beginning of the Iron Age, then you get an impression of a rapid revival of the traditions of the epoch which seems to have been forgotten a long time ago in many respects. For instance, pottery was not only treated in the same way – glossing, flutes, decoration – but also fanciful forms of the craftsmen of Old Europe were reconstructed; even the incrustation of a carved ornament with a white paint and painting were restored. Perhaps this reincarnation was assured by the keepers of ancient sacred beliefs and knowledge who were later called Druids in the western part of Europe. There is nothing strange in this succession because the population of Europe hasn’t changed a lot for the millennium which pasted from the previous epoch. It only increased by a few times.

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An interesting proof of it was found when studying the DNA taken from the skeletons of the late Iron Age which were found next to Try pi llian burial places in Verteba Cave in the Ternopil region. Local residents of the early Iron Age turned out to be, at least maternally… the descendants of Trypillians. So, the hypothesis about the existence of certain wise keepers of the sacred knowledge and traditions in Europe as a connecting link between epochs and civilizations looks not only plausible, but also quite possible. Just like in ancient times, unity on huge territories was mainly limited to the spiritual sphere and also to, so to say, “fashion” and “prestigious” display of the material culture, first of all – the elite one. The latter ones were conditioned to a great extent by both the circle of acquaintance and by technological possibilities of the local craftsmen. First of all it concerns weapons and adornments. The exchange of not only ideas and valuables, but also diverse goods and raw materials became vital needs. However, just like before, Europe was separated in a political respect and each union – either a clan of mountain dwellers in the Alps (or the Carpathians), a tribe, a chiefdom, a city-state or a small “kingdom” on the shore of a sea built life according to their views. Everybody had both bronze and iron weapons in their arsenal. They also had military equipment – chariots. Researchers found the richest burial places of rulers including the ones under big burial mounds, they are called “knyaz ones” by archeologists. They are not inferior to Scythian burial mounds in terms of sizes and riches. Thus, in those times part of the population of the Land again took part in the “whole-European cultural project” of the early Iron Age this time. It’s worth noting that this time already in the 8th–7th century BC the eastern borders of “New Old Europe” were extended far beyond the Dnieper. On the other hand, the steppe population – Cimmerians, had rather strong and intensive connections with the residents of the Caucasus where at this time not only crafts including bronze casting flourished, but also there were powerful and prosperous kingdoms. One of them was known to ancient Hellenes with the name Colchis – it is from here that the Argonauts set off to get the Golden Fleece. You should remember that in the Land there were quite a lot of people who were familiar not only with the legends about that fleece, but also with the residents of those countries. It is confirmed by the finds both in Cimmerian burial places

Section 11. The times of “long swords”

A set for chariots of the Cimmerian time. It included a bronze bit, psalia and distribution rings for the belts of reins which were fastened to the edge of a chariot

and in the burial places of their northern neighbors. In the products of the artistic crafts European and Caucasian plots, images, traditions were sometimes combined in an amazing way. Not only the creation of wonderful, perfect things, but also the building of well fortified settlements is characteristic of this time; they are called “hill forts” by archeThe Biskupin ancient settlement of the Lusatian culture (Poland). It was built in the times of Cimmerians, the 9th–the 8th century BC. The reconstruction is carried out on the basis of archeological researches. Every year in September they hold a festival here where you can get acquainted with reconstructions of the life and the way of life of the ancient population of Europe

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes ologists. Ancient Europeans, Celts, called such fortified settlements “oppida” and Romans who once applied great efforts for their siege called them “cities”. True, these ancient European cities, as a rule, were not always surrounded with stone walls. Their protection was assured by ramparts made of earth with wooden walls on top of them. But these fortifications, just like cities, sometimes reached such sizes which were not seen or heard of in the civilized Mediterranean. Sometimes fortresses were built of wood on islands among swamps and lakes. It’s worth noting that there were quite a lot of such European cities, only on the territory of the Land in the 8th–the 6th century BC there were a few dozen of them.

Life behind ramparts Having fenced off from unwanted guests with high ramparts, the residents of the forest-steppe successfully developed not only the agriculture, but also crafts. They grew cereals such as glumaceous wheat and others which had been known since the times of Trypillia. Even the form of a grain bruiser hadn’t

A grain bruiser – a “mill” from the Subotiv ancient settlement. The Chornoliska culture, the 9th–the 8th century BC

changed greatly. Dwellings were built a little deepened in the ground. Posts dug in along the perimeter of the foundation pit were the basis of the framework of both residential and utility buildings. However, besides small holes, you can find not only the traces of the activity of ancient residents, but also treasures hid by them with various purposes. They were engaged in crafts in ancient settlements. First of all ferrous metallurgy and

An iron analog of bronze axes-celts. The product of skillful craftsmen from Volhynia. The 9th–the 8th century BC

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Excavations of the remains of ancient dwellings in the Subotiv ancient settlement. The holes from posts which were the basis of the framework of the building can be noticed easily

ironwork were developed. Advanced Hittite technologies in combination with rich deposits of swamp ores allowed them to organize the production of not only iron, but also steel. First craftsmen made iron products with the usual form of bronze products. This is how iron axes-celts appeared; probably it was not more difficult to make them, but it definitely took much more time than to cast them in bronze.

Section 11. The times of “long swords” Blades of swords also resembled bronze prototypes. And part of the products was made for export, but for whom?! In Cimmerian burial places they found blades probably of the Chornoliska or the Hallstatt production. Even in those ancient times commercial considerations sometimes prevailed over common sense. Selling weapons to nomads ancient “businessmen” clearly didn’t take into account the possibility that some time later these weapons could be used against them. Traditions of the bronze casting production were preserved. However, the fashion for stone casting forms passed together with the Sabatynivka culture. Instead casting in clay forms upon a wax model became popular. This way they could make such amazing things in a simple manner. Adornments were especially diverse, for example, the famous Chornoliska bracelets. True, some experts think that these are not just adornments, but part of the equipage of a warrior, something like a bangle which protected the wrist. Such bracelets were part of the treasure which was found during excavations in the Subotiv ancient settlement. Two wide bracelets were dug there next to a steel sword. The bronze casting production of the Subotiv skilled craftsmen was based on the imported raw mate-

Fragments of clay casting forms for making adornments which were found during excavations of the Subotiv ancient settlement. Forms were used only once; in order to take out the product they were broken

rials. They received part of copper from the mines of the Donets Basin and partly used barrel-copper from Volhynia continuing the Trypillian tradition of extracting these unique deposits this way. It’s worth noting that the size and scale of the production on one site are suggested by not only numerous finds of the fragments of clay casting forms. When studying soil specimens from the site of ancient workshops the fact of enormous pollution with production wastes was determined. Even almost 2800 years later from the moment of the closing of the ancient Subotiv “plant” the level of the content of copper oxides exceeds all the health standards by hundreds of times here! It only remains to imagine what occupational diseases ancient craftsmen and their families could have on Bracelets of the this site. Chornoliska culture The fact of the development which were cast upon of the extraction of salt with its the wax model. The further export to near and distant 9th–8th century BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes countries was determined for the western Hallstatt culture. By the way, the very name of the culture originated from the excavations in the outskirts of the town Halle in the name of which the word halle – salt is traced. It is quite possible that our famous Halych is from the same toponymic row. By the way, the most ancient traces of salt extraction in Prykarpattia belong to the local Hallstatt residents – bearers of the GavaHoligrady culture. During excavations they found there not only the remains of salt furnaces, but also the remains of wells from which they took brine. In order to prevent their walls from decaying, they were planked carefully. The wood was so oversaturated with salt that it hasn’t decayed for more than two thousand years!

Eternal memory In those times the residents of the Land buried the dead with the observance of tribal traditions which were quite different on the territory from the Carpathians to the Crimea. The tradition of cremation, burning was quite spread. Urns with ashes and funeral gifts which included various things from vessels to adornments and weapons were also put into graves. Such burial places were found both in Prykarpattia and in Dnieper area. The cremation co-existed with the custom of burying in ordinary graves. A lot of tribes, not only in the steppe strip, just like before, continued to build burial mounds – big and small depending on the rank and the social status of the dead. In the foothills of the Crimea the Tauri lived; they preserved an ancient custom to built tombs of stone which had been known from the early Bronze Age. Quite a lot of Taurian tombs, for example, were found in the valley of the river Kacha, not far from Simferopol. True, almost all of them appeared to be robbed – some of them in ancient times and others rather recently. Thus, in one of the graves archeologists

Stone boxes – tombs of the Tauri which turned out to be robbed in the valley of the river Kacha near Simferopol. The 8th–the 6th millennium BC

found a rubber shoe sole which had been left by a present-day grave robber. He was hardly lucky to get a good haul because the Tauri put into graves only vessels, sometimes adornments of bronze, gold products like in Scythian mounds were not found here. Tombs were located in the form of stone boxes in groups, sometimes they were surrounded by stone fences – something like a tribal cemetery. Not far from

Burial places of the Kushtanovytsia culture: urns with ashes covered with a small mound. The 6th century BC

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Section 11. The times of “long swords” quickly understood that it was not that necessary to drive emaciated cattle to indigent pastures to lead a carefree life. It was only necessary to use their military advantage not only for the protection of their cattle, but also for assuring a more or less decent level of life. A real man, a warrior, a hero (in the Georgian language this notion is still rendered with the word “hmiri”, the etymology of the Ukrainian nickname “Hmyrya” is of the same nature) is capable of forcing their neighbors who were unprepared for the battle or caught unawares to give them all the necessary things. However, their actions were not limited to taking away excess of food, stealing cattle and petty robbery with the confiscation of valuables (mainly products of metal). There was a weightier factor that could stimulate the aggression of nomads. The economic power and prosperity of that time – in Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Phoenicia required slave labor. For assuring life of towns, metal mining, “service spheres” needed constant deliveries of “live goods”. Numerous local wars could only partly satisfy this need. For millenniums slave trade was successful and powerful business in the ancient world. Among the main intermediaries in the field of delivering “live goods” in those ancient times were Phoenicians whose ships traveled around the whole civilized world and even beyond its boundaries. They also reached the shores of the Black Sea. And this is not an assumption – the remains of a Phoenician ship, for instance, just a few years ago were found by underwater archaeologists near the shores of Turkey. And on the shore of the Caucasus they found a stone with a Phoenician inscription. To say nothing about the fact that the shores of Adornments of a horse harness which was fastened to leather belts. It was found in a Cimmerian burial place. The 9th–the 8th century BC

there they found the traces of both big and small settlements and also a hill fort which had been the center of the neighborhood and also the place where you could hide in the event of an attack of unwanted guests from the steppe.

Violence as a way of life and the basis of economy The life in steppes in those times was neither wealthy nor safe. The natural resources of the steppes which were located near the Black Sea didn’t make it possible to be engaged in effective nomadic economic management. However, Cimmerians rather

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A treasure from the Subotiv ancient settlement. The 9th– the 8th century BC

Pontus had been visited by Hellenes even before the beginning of the epoch of the mass colonization. Memories about it are still preserved in widely known stories about the travel of the Argonauts and Odysseus. So, Cimmerians and other enterprising chiefs might as well exchange slaves for objects of luxury and that’s why they could constantly send detachments of warriors to get new batches of “the goods”. Some time later, circumstances changed in such a way that part of Cimmerians even decided to move closer to the trade area, to Asia Minor, because the political situation in those countries was appropriate. The powerful state Assyria was feverish due to mutinies caused by its diverse subjects on the territory from Egypt to Elam. The country Urartu weakened by Assyrian raids turned into a rather accessible A bronze sword, an accidental find in the outskirts of the Subotiv ancient settlement. The 9th–the 8th century BC. Perhaps the weapon was lost during a campaign of Cimmerians against the bearers of the Chornoliska culture

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(and good) haul for bellicose neighbors. At the same time the need for mercenaries increased as regular armies experienced casualties in never-ending wars and campaigns. And the local “separatists” were always ready to hire a detachment or even a small army including for assuring their own protection or even for a liberation struggle with “the imperial center”. Indeed, this was the golden time for powerful and brave warriors from the distant overseas country Cimmeria – the times of long swords. A stele of a Cimmerian warrior with images of a bow and a sword

Section 12

Cimmerians and Scythians in Asia y force of circumstances Cimmerians and Scythians were bellicose peoples and they were always ready for campaigns. That’s why they left quite a lot of traces far from their motherlands. These traces are specific and conspicuous – burial places of warriors, parts of weapons. Already in ancient times these campaigns to overseas countries were connected with numerous legends and in this form they were written down by Herodotus and also by other Hellenes and later by Romans. Much later they found and managed to read cuneiform texts which originate from those countries where Cimmerians and Scythians managed to get. These texts and also finds which were made by archeologists showed that the events could look a little more different than it was told by Scythians or imagined by Hellenes. It is not easy for modern scientists to disentangle the grain of truth when comparing archeological finds, cuneiform texts, ancient works on history and biblical prophecies. Collecting such data, researchers try to ascertain what really is behind such well-known and famous (and usual) definitions as “Cimmerian campaigns” or “the hegemony of Scythians in Asia”. As it always happens in such situations, the versions of historians may vary to a great extent depending on the country of residence, the level of being informed, the interpretation of different data. One thing is for certain – Scythians and Cimmerians sometimes together and sometimes apart wrote quite a lot of pages in the ancient history of Asia (and later in the European one as well).

B

The country Gamirra In those times when Cimmerians were still rather peaceful and roamed in the steppes near the Black Sea, beyond the sea, the rulers of the country called Assyria dominated almost completely over the territory from Egypt to Media. Such a big country couldn’t do without violence. The hatred which was felt by the conquered and subdued peoples for the country Assur, its people and capital which became the symbol of the imperial governing is suggested in a conspicuous way by, for example, the statements of biblical prophets. However, all empires decay and start falling apart under certain circumstances. Competition among the ruling elite, separatism (or the fight for independence) of separate parts of the state, spontaneous rebellions of the local population reduced to despair – all this bursts out sooner or later. If you add the raids of neighbors – some of them want to revenge old offences, someone was invited by local politicians as an ally, then few imperial rulers (and practically never) manage to overcome all this successfully. The mentioned above circumstances are found in the history of the Assyrian state starting with the first half of the 7th century BC. Cimmerians knew well the routes to the South, over the Caucasus. As far back as the Bronze Age the tribes which lived among mountains and in the foothills not only paved trade routes to the South, but also when possible even moved closer to the borders with wealthy countries of the East. There are a lot of archeological finds which Assyrian king-victor. An ancient relief

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Cimmerians and the country Gamirra in Asia Minor. The end of the 8th and the first half of the 7th century BC

confirm it. There are also data that the rulers of big and small countries of Asia not once and not twice hired detachments of nomads or used their assistance as allies when they fought with a powerful enemy – for example Assyria. First some part of Cimmerians, most likely some of the residents of Fore-Caucasus, settled down behind the mountains, next to the kingdom Urartu. It happened as far back as the second half of the 8th century BC. The migrants successfully developed the territory and probably were mainly engaged in cattle-breeding and trade with the wealthy South. Here they found a few burial places with appropriate instruments. This area in the north-east outskirts of present-day Turkey has been called Cappadocia for the last two thousand odd years. Their neighbors called this land “the country Gamirra” [Gamir] 2700 years ago. This name is still preserved in the Armenian language and sounds like “Gamirq”. This area is mountainous that’s why in certain parts it is hard to get

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there; so, there has been few archeological excavations there. For now we have to rely more on modest and sometimes rather contradictory data of written sources. It is known that in 714 BC the Urartian king Rusa I made a campaign to this very country. We know about this campaign thanks to the most detailed reports of the Assyrian agents. Their messages and also reports drawn up for the ruler of Assyria by the head of the intelligence service, not anybody, but the successor to the throne himself (the future king Sinnaherib), were found by archeologists among ruins of the king’s palace. Here are extracts from some reports: “…when the Urartian king made a campaign to the country Gamirra, all his forces were defeated, he and his deputies pulled back”; “…three of the military commanders with their detachments were killed and he himself [the king] ran away and returned to his own land…”. One of the reports of the agent named Ashurrisua says that the military defeat caused disturbances in the country Urartu: “…peo-

Section 12. Cimmerians and Scythians in Asia ple rebelled in the settlements of the Urartian king… took a haul and went up to the mountains”. Moreover, one of the Urartian tartans (military commanders) even stirred up a rebellion against his own king. In those times in Assyria they could use the information received from the intelligence service rather quickly. In the period between 714–709 BC there was a grandiose campaign of king Sargon II to the North including the country Urartu. Then for about thirty years there wasn’t even a single line about Cimmerians in local documents. It seems that at that time the neighbors didn’t care about the country Gamirra and Cimmerians themselves didn’t show any particular activity. They appeared only in 679 BC when headed by king Teuspa they tried to test the strength of Assyrian borders. But the imperial intelligence service was vigilant that’s why the new king Esarhaddon had enough time not only to turn to the oracle god Shamash, as it must be done in such situations, with a question how successful the plans of “the warriors of Gamirra” would be, but also to assemble the troops. The raid appeared to be unsuccessful, it even cost the king of Cimmerians his head. The only thing that remains unclear is exactly from where this raid was made: from the country Gamirra in the South Caucasus or from distant steppes near Black Sea (Fore-Caucasus). It seems that the first variant looks more realistic. Later Cimmerians (as far back as 675–676 BC) acted as allies of the Phrygian kingdom which attempted to defend its independence in the fight with Assyria. In

Ruins of fortresses of the kingdom Urartu

the same years detachments of horsemen from the country Gamirra also went to the East, to Media, again near the imperial borders. At this very moment Scythians appeared on the local historical arena. Before that they had already managed to go to Black Sea region and Fore-Caucasus, in the motherland of Cimmerians. This episode is described by Herodotus rather vividly. As a result, the country Gamirra was probably overcrowded with refugees from the historical homeland who were ready to offer more than one battle to their offenders. And they offered it to Scythians devastating the borderline districts of Assyria including part of Media. King Sargon with a sacrificial animal and a plate with cuneiform. The inscription says about the victorious campaign of the king to the North which was started in 714 BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes When Scythians having taken a haul (or having received their payment for their help from Assyrians) went away, the residents of the country Gamirra returned to their everyday activities the main of which were, judging by the eastern chronicles, raids and wars. After 660 BC almost for three decades they attacked primarily the towns in Ionia and the Lydian kingdom and also disturbed the borders of Assyria. Legends are preserved that Cimmerians razed to the ground the newly founded colony of Hellenes on the bank of the Black Sea – Sinop. It is understood that Hellenes remembered this for a long time and even a few centuries later they treated Cimmerians with much less sympathy than their enemies-Scythians. The country of Cimmerians became a sovereign kingdom with its own dynasty – the throne of king Dugdame (Lygdamis) was succeeded to his son, Sandakshatru. In 644 BC Cimmerians managed even to capture the capital of Lydia – the city of Sardis, as a result of this king of Lydia Giges was killed. As such actions of Cimmerians only played into the hands of Assyria, for some time old enemies even became allies, but true, it was not for long. When the victorious Cimmerian troops came to the banks of the Mediterranean Sea through Cilicia, their neighbors, probably, pondered over their probable next actions. As the new king of the country Gamirra, the powerful warrior Shandakshatru, was disposed in a hostile way regarding Assyria. Everything suggests that that part of Cimmerians who managed to settle down in the northern outskirts of ancient Eastern countries took part in numerous local wars and conflicts to their benefit. However, their country existed here only for about one hundred years and disappeared from the political map of the ancient world just like it happened with “the country of Cimmerian men” to the North of the Black Sea. The last mentions about Cimmerians in Asia are dated to the times when the Lydian king Alliat probably

with the assistance of Scythian detachments marched off against them. This happened after Scythians themselves took their hand in the devastation of Assyria which took place in 612–609 BC. Perhaps it was then that the tribes of Cimmerian Sigynnae described by Herodotus left Asia forever and returned to Europe to the Hungarian plain. We can try to cover these events and also what preceded them in greater detail.

In “pursuit” of Cimmerians In the “story” of Herodotus everything was explained very simply: in pursuit of Cimmerians Scythians intruded into Asia over the Caucasus. Perhaps this pursuit was not accidental and maybe it was not a pursuit in the first place. Assyrian sources mention the appearance near their northern borders of Scythians-“Shkuda” headed by king Ishpakay approximately in 674 BC without any connection with Cimmerians. These strangers from the North conducted warfare not in the country Gamirra, but further to the East in Media. It happened between 676–672 BC and produced a great impression on near countries. Of course, Assyrians were well informed about what was happening not only in their huge state, but also beyond its borders. The same trade routes over the Caucasus were surely known not only to Cimmerians, but also to merchants from Assyria. In the ancient East merchants had been state people since the times of the Akkadian Empire; when it was necessary they were intelligence agents or diplomats. They always provided detailed reports about all the important events to appropriate people. Remembering about the mentioned above reports of Assyrian agents from the kingdom of Urartu, we can say almost with 100% confidence: the appearance of the Scythian troops not only in the Caucasus, but also in the Pontic steppes, their number, battle capability, to say nothing

The army of the kingdom Urartu. An image on a bronze helmet of king Argishtis, son of Menua (781—760 BC)

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Section 12. Cimmerians and Scythians in Asia

The first Asian campaign of Scythians as allies of the king of Assyria, approximately 676—672 BC

about certain peculiarities of the Scythian-Cimmerian relations were reported to the “Center” which was controlled by the king’s son Sinnaherib, as always, in time. And there they managed not only to make conclusions (timely ones), but also to take the right decisions and to take the necessary measures as further events showed. It is quite possible that in search of allies in another war with neighbors (and Cimmerians who joined The king of Assyria Esarhaddon

them) king Esarhaddon sent his people far to the North. Before offering the king’s daughter as a wife to “the king of the country of Scythians” Bartatua (or Partitava, or Protothyes), according to the tradition in such situations, he asked the oracle. If only king of kings Esarhaddon could know then that this question will reach the descendants solely for the reason that together with his palace the archives would be burnt and clay plates would be burnt well and this destructive fire would be made by the descendants of Scythians invited by him! Perhaps the oracle might as well warn the king that 60 years later not only the king’s palace and the archives would be burnt in the fire of a big war, but the whole country Assyria would be reduced to ashes and relegated to oblivion. He could foretell in a simple form that the great Esarhaddon, dealing with Scythians, played with fire choosing a horrible future for his country. However, the oracle probably was not asked about anything like that.

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes quite vivid memories. As a little more than 150 years from the beginning and less than one hundred years after the end of the devastating wars on the territory of Media where Scythians distinguished themselves to a considerable extent had passed. The military customs of steppe and other warriors of that epoch fell far beyond the scope of the Geneva Conventions. A good illustration of them is a description of military customs of Scythians given by Herodotus (scalps, cut off heads of enemies as adornments for horses); all this is confirmed documentarily with the help of images on battle belts of Caucasian warriors of that epoch. If there is war, then there is violence, fires, robbery. Of course, the Assyrian army acted in Gold from Kelermes burial mounds which are situated in the Fore-Caucasus are dated to the times of Asian campaigns of Scythians in the 7th century BC the same cruel way in relation to Medes and Persians, but Assyria suffered a just punishment and Scythians and their country Perhaps the condition of Assyria was quite serious to remained unpunished. take such a step. Nonetheless, the new Scythian relative It is after the first campaigns to Asia that the wealthcould act as a protector of the empire which was surroundiest Scythian mounds filled with spoils and/or gifts from ed by internal and external enemies with numerous and the countries of the East appeared in the steppes of the well-armed horse warriors. Assyria received not only a Fore-Caucasus. The Kelermes burial mound is one of the counterbalance to Scythians king Ishpakay, but also a seribiggest ones where they found the weapons of the ous support. Thus, the opinion that though Scythians really Scythian king rich in ornaments who had taken part in “intruded into Asia” (but not in the pursuit of Cimmerians), Transcaucasian wars – a sword in a gold sheath and a batbut they were first invited there as allies looks quite groundtle axe. Parts of a horse bridle, mirrors, and vessels of preed. While doing that the inviting party had no idea that these cious metals were also found there; and in one of the allies would get out of control some day and make a considerable contribution to the collapse of Assyria. At first (approximately between 675–672 BC) everything went as it had been planned: Cimmerians and Scythians really clashed and exterminated each other well somewhere near the Assyrian borders including probably on the territory of Media. After that neither of them had been mentioned in Assyrian annals for about ten years. There are grounds to think that it was then that Scythians conquered Media and of course, ravaged the country to a great extent. This statement is confirmed by a proof that the Median king under certain circumstances (a few decades later) “remembered” that he was a vassal of the Scythian ruler (it will be discussed a little later). The conclusion that Scythians ravaged Media (and not only Media) to a great extent can also be made on the basis of those dramatic events which took place many years later. The revenge for “past offences” was called to be an official reason for the campaign of the Persian king Darius Gistaspa against Scythians. And this might not be just a ritual expression, but Scythian warriors during a battle. An image on bronze battle belts. The Caucasus, the 7th century BC

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Section 12. Cimmerians and Scythians in Asia Weapons of Scythians which were found in Kelermes burial mounds, the ForeCaucasus. The second half of the 7th century BC

ment in the Kharkiv region they found a bronze mace, a fragment of a rhyton and a silver mirror made in Transcaucasia. The eastern “souvenirs” which are dated to this time are also found in Scythian burial mounds in the right bank Forest-steppe.

The return to the Babylonian rivers

mounds in Stavropol they even found a part of the pole of an Assyrian chariot. There is also an opinion that these spoils were accumulated for more than one or two years and the Fore-Caucasus was a kind of a rear base for distant campaigns of Scythians. However, there are also such things there which could be made by Eastern craftsmen against the orders of the Scythian elite. Part of veterans of Asian campaigns didn’t stop in the Fore-Caucasus, but went farther to the North-East. Thus, in a burial mound near the Liubotyn ancient settleAsian spoils of Scythians – a bronze mace and a dish covered with gold which were found in a burial place near the Liubotyn ancient settlement. The 8th–the 7th century BC

The fact that Scythians left Asia for some time doesn’t mean that they forgot about the existence of there, behind the Caucasus, fabulously wealthy countries which were full of treasures. There are grounds to think that the steppe rulers collected information about the situation in neighboring countries in the same careful way. Otherwise how can you explain the fact that Madius, the son of the mentioned above king Protothyes, appeared near the borders of Assyria exactly when next disturbances started there. And the campaign included not only the Scythians who roamed near the Caucasus, but also (judging by archeological materials) even military contingents from the forest-steppe regions of the Land. After the beginning of a rebellion in Babylon (May of 627 BC) it took less than twenty years for the once powerful state Assyria to disappear from the political map of the World forever. When in 623 BC the Median king intruded into the borders of Assyria from the East and surrounded its capital, Nineveh, Scythians appeared on the historical arena again. First as the allies of Assyrians. The allies not only lifted the siege, but also made a punitive campaign through the lands of Babylonia, Palestine and Syria because their residents were villains who had taken part in this anti-state rebellion. As at that time part of Palestine was under control of Egypt, we can say that Scythians reached the frontiers of pharaohs state. The ruler of Egypt, Psamtik I, decided not to wage a war, but to pay off the unexpected guests. Probably it was the Assyrians who advised him to do so; at that moment they hardly planned the raid of “the dear allies” to the valley of the Nile – perhaps the punishment of the guilty and the resumption of the order within the borders of Assyria were more important. As Scythians hadn’t been mentioned in ancient records for the next ten years, probably they didn’t stay in Asia for long this time. On their way home Scythians might as well go with fire and sword through the territories of Medes again. As after such a decisive interference of Scythians in the war they recovered themselves only in 615 BC when they renewed their attack on Assyria together with mutinous Babylon. And again Scythians appeared in Asia when in 612 BC the united forces of two kings, Babylonian Nabopolassar and Median Cyaxares, again drove Assyrians into a corner, to be more exact, behind the walls of Nineveh, the wealthiest city and the powerful stronghold of the once powerful empire. The ruler of Scythians Madius appeared

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The second Asian campaign of Scythians: allies and saviors of Assyria, 623 BC

at the crucial moment with his warriors. Probably he was called by the king’s messenger who in some amazing way had managed to slip through from the surrounded capital with a desperate call for help. The appearance of a fresh horse army could tilt the scales in the favor of any of the parties. If Scythians had attacked the forces of Babylonia and Media, they would have had a chance, just like in old good times, to rescue Assyria once again. But Madius knew for sure that kingsrebels could inflict heavy casualties on his detachments. Blood which could be shed for fulfilling allied obligations to Assyria couldn’t be compared with the payment that might be offered by the king of the surrounded Nineveh. Perhaps the rebels felt this doubt of Scythians. The king of Media, Cyaxares, having demonstrated courage (and slyness) personally came to the camp of Madius and for a start, reminded him humbly that just like before he

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considered the Scythian ruler his suzerain. Then he probably made an offer which it was difficult for Madius to reject, to be more exact: to share not only the glory of the victor, but also the remains of the treasures of Assyria. In any case, part in the robbery of the capital, not to mention the whole country, would be bigger anyway than the possible payment of Assyrians for the military assistance. Scythians couldn’t refuse and that’s why they not only supported the rebels, but also shared the property of the defeated in a just way. Nineveh fell, it was not saved either by its strong fortifications or by the courage of its defenders (the capital numbered up to 300,000 residents). Three months after the beginning of the siege the city was captured and burnt to ashes. Its ruins were found by archeologists by a miracle in the 19th century. We can say that ancient prophecies finally came true to the fullest extent: “Woe is to the city

Section 12. Cimmerians and Scythians in Asia

Bronze points of arrows – the traces of Scythian campaigns which were found among the ruins of the towns of Assyria. Below for comparison there are points of arrows from burial places near the Liubotyn ancient settlement, the 7th century BC

The city of Nineveh was situated here

of blood! All of it is full of lies and offences, robbery never ends there. The crack of a whip and the rattle of spinning wheels, the neigh of a galloping horse and the clatter of rushing chariots. The cavalry is galloping and a sword is glittering and a spear is glittering – and plenty of dead people and piles of dead bodies. Endless dead bodies, people are stumbling over dead bodies!”1 Scythians together with the new allies destroyed and robbed a lot of towns of Assyria including Harran. A famous temple which was situated in this town, the temple of Moon Deity – Ehulhul fell victim to them. This temple was rather wealthy because not somebody, but the last Assyrian sovereign was its chief priest. We can try to trace the raids of Scythian detachments on the territory of Asia on the basis of the finds of bronze points of arrows which are dated to the 1

7th century BC: Haykaberd, Assur, Tarsus, Jerar, Nineveh, Carchemish, Al Mina in Syria, Jerar in the South of Palestine ( this list can be continued) and even… allied Babylon. And in the latter case (just like in most of the mentioned above cases) these points of arrows were found during excavations of the walls of the town fortifications.

The end of the ally of three kings The joint actions of Scythians, Babylonians and Medes on the ruins of the Assyrian state lasted till 601 BC. This year is mentioned in relation with a joint campaign of Babylonians headed by king Nebuchadnezzar and Scythian detachments to the frontiers of Egypt. Pharaoh Necho managed to stop this campaign. Probably not without casualties of the enemy. It is not known why the two past (already) allies fell out, but written sources inform: in 597–596 BC the threat of a Scythian raid already hung over Mesopotamia. The finds of points of Scythian arrows in the fortress walls of Babylon suggest that everything might not be limited only to threats.

This is what prophet Nahum of Alqosh said — the Old Testament, Nahum, 3: 1 — 4.

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The third Asian campaign of Scythians: the devastation of Assyria and the end of the country Gamirra, 612—596/594 BC

Some historians think that “the period of the hegemony of Scythians” in Asia falls exactly on the time between 630–615 (or even 596), in other words, on the end of the 7th century BC. The interesting fact is that the participation of Scythians in military conflicts later allowed other, not less active participants of the events to attribute all robberies, fires and destructions which accompanied the collapse of the country Assur and the establishment of the new ancient Eastern order to steppe warriors. The Babylonian king Nabonidus took care so that appropriate inscriptions were made. To tell the truth, even a long-lasting stay of detachments of mercenaries in the region, even if they are rather numerous, who were engaged in robberies and violence can hardly be considered as “hegemony”. They were hired to serve different rulers in turns, which sometimes led to armed conflicts, like wars between the kingdoms of Media and Lydia. It is not known how long all this disor-

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der lasted. Herodotus wrote “28 years”, but historians still can’t identify these years in the hard times of the described above events with common consent. It is understood that such a type of “hegemony” couldn’t last that long solely on the initiative of Scythians. When the need for “the dear allies” finally disappeared and the local rulers felt that they were going out of control, everything ended very quickly and sadly for Scythians. King Cyaxares killed part of military commanders who had drunk too much at a party organized by him. This murderous banquet is dated to approximately 596 or to 594 BC. However, Medes never dared or managed to finally finish off their ancient enemies (and once masters, then allies and again enemies). So, part of Scythians managed to go back to the northern shores of the Pontus and to the Fore-Caucasus carrying something which had been taken from the towns and countries of the East.

Section 12. Cimmerians and Scythians in Asia

The last “feat” of Scythians in Asia? However, sometimes it is claimed that the cunning Cyaxares let Scythians go with a certain purpose, to be more exact, he obliged them to go through the territory of Urartu on their way home. After such a visit of Scythians, the cunning king of Media thought with some grounds, it would be much easier to conquer Urartu. Cyaxares was concerned about the Urartian fortresses and the fortifications of the city most of all. Some of them which were located in rocks had two or three lines of stone walls with the thickness of 3 or 4 meters. And Urartian warriors were also armed and equipped as necessary: they found not only armor (leather or fabric base with sewed bronze plates and even a metal coat of mail), shields, but also steel swords, spears and daggers made by skillful craftsmen. During the defense of fortresses and in battles they used big bows the length of arrows of which amounted to more than 70 cm. The points of arrows were made in the country Urartu of bronze and... obsidian (volcanic glass). The king could use the army which consisted of the infantry and the cavalry. Chariots which were still popular in the East, old and tested battle equipment, were also used. The state Urartu didn’t take part in the Assyrian activities and, no doubt, could offer good competition to Media in its quite natural desire to dominate in Asia. Excavations suggest that some fortresses of Urartu were really captured at this time, captured unexpectedly and not after a long-lasting siege which the steppe warriors were capable of. They found a lot of bronze points of arrows “of the Scythian type” in walls. Lately some researchers have been disposed to think that these fires and destructions are rather a result of the anarchy in the country than the attacks of Scythians. They claim (with certain grounds) that points of the Scythian type might as well be added to the armory by Medes who, as it is known, quite successfully conquered Urartu after the withdrawal of Scythians. On the other hand, among the finds in the burial

A trophy from the kingdom Urartu – a bronze pot which was found in a burial place of a Cimmerian chief near the village of Kvitka in the Chernihiv region. The 7th century BC

mounds of the Land which had been left by both Scythians and Cimmerians they found things of the Urartian origin. Among them are bronze vessels made of sheet bronze and decorated with two cast handles. They are found not only in mountain areas, in the burial places of the Koban culture, but also on the other side of the Caucasus, in Kuban. Exactly the same vessel was found at the beginning of the 1980s of the 20th century on the territory of the Cherkasy region near the village of Kvitka in a wealthy burial place of a Cimmerian chief. Scythians probably together with some of Cimmerians returned to their native land successfully. This time the spoils were left not only in the burial mounds in the Northern Caucasus or Stavropoliye, but also further to the West, in Pontic steppes and also in the Forest-steppe. For instance, in a burial mound near the village of Oleksiyvka (the left bank of the Siverskyi Donets) they found an adornment from a stool in the form of a bull head which had been taken from some palace in the East for sure. Scythians also returned to the borders of southern areas of the Forest-steppe in Dnieper area (and also with spoils), which is confirmed by the finds from the Melgunov burial mound and in other places. The veterans of the eastern campaigns also returned to the Liubotyn ancient settlement in the Kharkiv region.

Bronze points of arrows which were found during excavations among the walls of an Urartian fortress. The beginning of the 6th century BC

The remains of the armor with bronze plates which were found among the ruins of a town of the kingdom Urartu. It was made in the 8th century BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Some of the places where the spoils of Asian campaigns were found in burial places of Scythians and Cimmerians. They are dated to the 8th–the 7th century BC

This time one of them brought a gilded bronze dish and a rhyton with a silver adornment in the form of a bull head. The latter has either an Assyrian or an Urartian origin. Summing up the Asian odyssey of Cimmerians and Scythians we can note that their destiny and deeds are

somewhat similar and somewhat different. Unlike Scythians, Cimmerians created in Asia their own “country Gamirra” which existed for more than one hundred years. Scythians were rather a destructive force than a creative one. They took part in three wars in two of which they fought on the side of Assyria. Their interference prolonged for half a century the existence of the empire which had been hated by peoples of the East, but their choice made in the third Asian campaign led to the collapse of the Assyrian state. Its heritage was successfully divided between local rulers and uncertain alliesScythians (and Cimmerians, too) appeared to be unnecessary at this feast of victors in the end. The destiny appeared to be extremely unfavorable to those who pondered over the new geopolitical situation too long – they died. Those who ran away (pulled back), i.e. left the East in time even without any solemn farewell ceremony, but at least alive and with spoils. But even in their native land almost one hundred years later their descendants were found and the successors of those who they had killed and robbed in Asia tried to revenge. This way peoples who lived on the territory of the Land in that time integrated into the world politics as never before. The armor of the Asian type and the weapons of the times of the campaigns. Burial mound 15 near the town of Stebliv in the Chernihiv region. The 8th century BC

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Section 13

From Cimmeria to Scythia or every force, there will be a counter force sooner or later. The country of Cimmerian men in the Pontic steppes fell under the blows of Scythian tribes which were also good warriors, but they were much more numerous. They came from the East. First they encountered the Cimmerians who lived in the Fore-Caucasus, on the shores of the Sea of Azov. Cimmerians had to decide whether to fight or to go somewhere. And then they chose their further destiny in accordance with their own views about honor and dignity and also about the values and sense of a human life. It’s worth noting that already in those ancient times the views about the mentioned above notions were rather different for the people and for its part who considered themselves to be the elite of the society. For Scythians the fight with Cimmerians was a war for the new motherland. Such events are always connected with lots of legends which interweave in a fanciful way.

F

Kings and the people: everybody is on their own

case, have been discovered. However, they have also found burial places of Cimmerians, although they were quite few and rather modest. These are mainly burial places of warriors. One of them which was studied in Slobozia (Moldova) contained a horse harness (psalia and a bit), an iron sword, a hone, the remains of a modest wooden shield and some other equipment. So, a mass grave of Cimmerian kings near the Tyras-Dniester is still to be found by archeologists. However, it is doubtful that the Cimmerian elite one and

If we believe Herodotus, then at a military meeting Cimmerians considered two variants of further actions. Chiefs-kings wanted to fight with the newcomers, but the “people” proposed going away from their motherland without any fight. Each of the parties stood their ground firmly. Eventually everybody did as they considered necessary, i.e. the people didn’t hear the kings and the kings didn’t want to yield to the people. First let’s speak about the kings. For more than one hundred years archeologists have been looking for (and have found) burial places of Cimmerian warriors in Naddnistryanshchyna, in the area of Tiraspol; because it’s here that according to Herodotus those proud kings who hadn’t wanted to surrender to Scythians or leave their territories were buried. For this reason they killed one another in a single battle. Thanks to these excavations quite a lot of antiquities of different epochs, mainly more ancient than the ones A battle of Cimmerians with Scythians, artistic reproduction which interest us in this

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

Adornments of a sheath or a belt on which they carried a sword. Gold, silver, a paste insertion. A burial place of a Cimmerian, the second half of the 7th century BC. The Zaporizhya region

all laid down their heads over the Tyras, as historical and archeological data suggest that the Cimmerian people didn’t live without kings later.

So, where did the people go? The opinion (and the destiny) of the Cimmerian people, as further history shows, turned out to be different as well. Some of them managed to stay in the Land having left the steppes. For northern peoples the change of power wasn’t that important. Some other robbers replaced the previous ones; probably they were more powerful and that’s why more dangerous. However, the residents of the Forest-steppe were much more numerous and well organized at that time. Their rulers might as well come to an agreement with former enemies who turned into dear friends and allies from that moment. Cimmerians who lived in Sea of Azov area and in the plains of the Fore-Caucasus (something is known about them from one version of a myth about the Argonauts) under the name of Helonians (and even had a fortress there) moved as the Roman historian Plutarch wrote much later, “to the North, to the forest land”. Some researchers still think that the North of the Poltava region, part of the present-day Sumy and even Chernihiv regions of Ukraine could be this “forest land”. Some of Cimmerians, judging by the found wealthy burial mounds, also headed by kings, moved to the Chornoliska ancient settlement on the right bank of the Dnieper. And right bank and left bank groups of Cimmerians always maintained relations with their tribesmen who had headed for the South to Transcaucasia; this is confirmed by objects which were brought from that dis-

Directions of the movement of Cimmerians from the steppes near the Black Sea after the appearance of Scythians. The map is drawn up on the basis of the materials of excavations and information in the written sources

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Section 13. From Cimmeria to Scythia as the southern shore of the Black Sea and settled down in Cappadocia which received the name “the country Gamirra” for some time”1. Of course, a wise and bellicose king was engaged in this resettlement. Almost one hundred years later these immigrants would have to leave the found motherland and go back to Europe, this time to its central areas; this will be dealt with in greater details below.

Cimmerians and Europe

Things which were found in a burial place of a Cimmerian warrior on the territory of the Crimea. The middle of the 8th – the beginning of the 7th century BC

Modern historians can only dream of finding written sources about the European campaigns of Cimmerians. As in those areas of Europe where archeologists find traces of Cimmerians now, in those ancient times there wasn’t any tradition to keep chronicles or to make commemorative inscriptions about different events as people in the Far East liked to do it so much. However, here the traces of Cimmerian campaigns are more, so to say, material and for now archeologists have studied Europe much better than “the country Gamirra” and its outskirts which are still not easily accessible. We can even distinguish a few stages of the “interaction” of Europe with the steppe warriors. First there were campaigns of horse detachments with the purpose of robbery. They had started about one hundred years before the appearance of Scythians in the steppes. And finally those steppes which were known to Hellenes as “the plains Laurion” became the last home of Cimmerians who left “the country Gamirra” under the pressure of the powerful enemies.

tant land. Burial places of Cimmerians were also found in the Crimea. There part of them might as well join the Tauri who had fortified their positions in the foothills. Quite a big part of “the Cimmerian people”, probably from the ForeCaucasus, moved as far Cimmerians and Europe in the 9th–the 7th century BC. The years of campaigns and the resettlement from the country Gamirra are indicated

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You can find more details about it in the section “Cimmerians and Scythians in Asia”

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A bone psalium of the eastern type. From a museum in the city of Košice, Eastern Slovakia

A sword and gold adornments of a sheath of the Cimmerian time on the territory of Bulgaria

So, first there were raids. The most conspicuous traces of destructions, remains of victims of Cimmerian swords and arrows were found and are found by archeologists almost on the whole territory of Central Europe. During excavations of one of the ancient settlements on the territory of Austria in 1976 they found a hiding place (a basement of a burnt dwelling) where the whole family – a man, two women, four children – had tried to hide from Cimmerians. They really didn’t become slaves, but their destiny wasn’t less horrible – they suffocated in their hiding place. One more awful find from the same ancient settlement suggests the nature of invaders. Archeologists found a skull of a girl with the traces of numerous blows with a sword handle. A warrior was pursuing the girl who was running away from him striking blow by blow. The last blow with a blade finished off the victim. The described above events happened most likely between 870–860 BC. A lot of time had passed before the ancient settlement was reconstructed and inhabited. Etruscans and Hellenes also knew about Cimmerian horsemen not from fairytales. Judging by ancient images, quite unpleasant memories remained after this “close acquaintance”. On ancient vessels and sarcophagi made in Etruscan and Hellenian towns craftsmen reproduced the dark silhouettes of Cimmerian horsemen with long swords raised above their heads and horse archers. True, at that time the subject of invincible and merciless steppe horse warriors had turned into (for some time) half fictional tales and terrible stories. A bronze sword of the Cimmerian time. The Platar Collection

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The most numerous finds which are related to the appearance of Cimmerians are the parts and adornments of a horse harness – bits, various psalia, parts of the harness of chariots. However, these things which are useful and constructed in a rational way could be bought, exchanged and finally copied by local skillful craftsmen on Cimmerians models. The same can be said about adornments and harnesses, especially about the points of arrows. Nonetheless, there are cases when all these things were found in graves which had been made according to the rite which was characteristic for Cimmerians or in treasures. There are also treasures which consist of things of the Cimmerian origin and local ones. In such case we can speak with more confidence about military campaigns of the expatriates from the steppes near the Black Sea. The finds from Zadunavya to Bulgaria and also in Moravia can be connected with the results of Cimmerian raids. It is in these areas that ruined settlements, treasures and burial places of steppe warriors who had died in a battle were found. In the Great Hungarian Plain, especially near the foothills of Bukk Mountains and Matra Cimmerian antiquities (mostly in burial places) were found in such quantity that it gave researchers grounds to speak about the migration of nomads to this area. Did they try to go here from Scythians who had intruded into Black Sea region? Probably there were a few such migration waves and maybe not only from Black Sea region. As quite wealthy burial places were found here it is widely thought that a Cimmerian tribal union headed by “a king” could exist here. Perhaps some Cimmerians who lived in the steppes behind the Danube were familiar to Herodotus as Sigynnae «who dress like Medes” and drive chariots. In the legend about the Argonauts the place where Sigynnae live is called “the valley of Laurion”. Sigynnae dressed like Medes because they had moved to Central Europe from Media, according to the latter. Herodotus couldn’t explain how this people had appeared behind the Danube. However, if we remember “the country Gamirra” in the north of Anatolia and also the participation of Cimmerians in the events of the eastern history, then it is not difficult to assume that they ran away from Asia at the end of the 7th or at the beginning of the 6th century BC when that land became the arena of sanguinary wars on the ruins of the decaying Assyrian empire.

Section 13. From Cimmeria to Scythia

An image of a chariot and drivers, probably Sigynnae, on bronze vessels which were found on the territory of Europe (according to Ya. Khokhorovskyi)

Sigynnae had trousers and captans (ancient man’s outer garments with long flaps) on and on their heads they wore acute-angled caps which vase painters from the ancient lands Hellas and Etruria liked to portray so much. Perhaps the descendants of Cimmerians who hadn’t lost their identity still lived in the Hungarian plain hundreds of years later after leaving the motherland. Some time later, Cimmerians who moved to Central Europe merge with the local population giving Celts, Thracians and also other peoples their knowledge and achievements in the military science and riding. This is how local variants of products which have Cimmerian prototypes appear. This concerns first of all parts of a horse bridle. This is how, for example, the whole range of the so-called “Thracian-Cimmerian” antiquities which were spread in Dnieper area appears. So, it is quite possible that the descendants of Cimmerian warriors made their valuable contribution to the formation of the ferocious Thracian cavalry which was successfully hired by Hellenes for the protection from Scythians.

Eternal enemies, eternal companions Nomads-Scythians followed the steps of Cimmerians in Europe as well. Already at that time, when the flames of war were burning to the fullest extent in the East and their fellow tribesmen went to fight with the enemies of Assyria, quite a numerous group of Scythians was formed on the territory of Transylvania. Probably they had little, but guaranteed plunder. Characteristic burial places with weapons and horse bridles remained after them. And in the neighborhood in a sudden way all Hallstatt settlements, even fortified ones, disappear. In this area Scythians stood till the end of the 7th century BC, i.e. till the unsuccessful campaign of the Persian king Darius I to Black Sea region. In addition, Scythians even reached the Carpathian hollow and also roamed in the eastern part of Scythian campaigns to Europe

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes the plain Laurion, next to Cimmerians. Probably from here they made raids on their neighbors who lived to the South and to the North. There are a few fortresses in Danube area during excavations of which they found quite a lot of Scythian points of arrows. Lots of them were bent due to a blow against a stone wall. Judging by the number of finds, we can conclude that the firing was rather intensive. Scythians burnt walls made of wood. This is what they did to the ancient settlement Smolenice on the territory of Slovakia. Here they found a few hundred characteristic bronze points of arrows during excavations. The destruction was complete; the settlement was never reconstructed.

The traces of Scythian campaigns to the North from the Carpathians. The Vytashkivskyi treasure, Scythian gold and bronze points of arrows from the ruins of ancient settlements which were found on the territory of Poland

The traces of Scythian campaigns were also found further to the North, behind the Carpathians. Here they are dated to approximately the middle of the 6th century BC. These are again arrows smashed due to a blow against stones. These things were found near caves-hiding places on the way to passes. The population of the Lusatian culture in the lands of Silesia suffered most of all. Passing round the Carpathians from the North, one of the detach-

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ments of Scythians even decided to make a rather deep raid to the West along the left bank of the Oder. Other detachments managed to get to the middle reach of the Vistula. Here they found a few ancient settlements with the traces of the stay of Scythians –fires and points of arrows. Abatises filled with the reaped harvest and the reserves for winter suggest in a conspicuous way that raids were carried out in autumn. Moving farther, Scythians also reached the territories of the Lusatian culture in the North, in the Chelmno lands. Here points of arrows were found in the ancient settlement Kamyanyets which had been captured by Scythians unawares. Among the remains of the burnt gates they even found a skeleton of a horseman who had been buried here together with his horse. Among Polish archeologists there is a widely-spread thought that Scythians made a big contribution to the decay and the disappearance of the Lusatian culture. That’s why the images of ferocious figures of Scythian warriors armed to the teeth which had been copied from ancient gold products became almost an integral attribute of some museum exhibitions here. And next to simple utensils and vessels of the Lusatian culture “material evidence” – bronze points of deadly Scythian arrows which turned green due to time is demonstrated. However, it is necessary to note that there are proofs connected with the fact that not always Scythian raids remained unpunished. On the territory of Poland, in Witaszkowo, they found a treasure which included a full set of weapons, adornments and other things which were probably taken from a Scythian (or Scythians) who was killed in a fight. As for the weapons, it’s worth paying attention to the remains of an akinaka with a handle covered with gold and a gold sheath and also a gold wonder-fish with a mysterious smile on the back of which there is an image of hunting lions and on its head there is a group of fish and dolphins. Either Scythians left their bases behind the Carpathians themselves or they were forced out of there by Celts, but in the end, devastating raids of Steppe tribes stopped. True, not forever, but only till another wave of nomads from the steppes, this time Sarmatians, moved to Central Europe to take their place in the wealthy steppes of the plain Laurion.

Section 14

The descendants of Zeus and Borisfen ellenes called them Scythians; they were admired by their natural simplicity, but horrified by their brutal customs. In treatises of ancient historians and on old maps our lands were called Scythia till the 17th century and this period of history still excites imagination to such an extent that quite a lot of modern peoples search for their roots in it. It seems that if there are so many mentions in historical works, it wouldn’t be that difficult to reproduce vivid pictures from the glorious Scythian past. However, when you put all these mentions together, then you get a rather fabulous canvas which is just unbelievable in parts and resembles not history, but some legends which Scythians told the curious Hellenes in Olvia or Bosporan taverns. Is this why as far back as one and a half thousand years ago some historians for patriotic reasons included Scythians’ acts into feats of their own peoples? During the study of Scythian antiquities archeologists themselves managed to create quite a lot of legends (and then to debunk them in the same successful way), step by step extending the knowledge about this people (or peoples) in the end. So, even today the account of the origin of Scythians, even if it is based on the combination of ancient data and finds in steppe burial mounds, will partly resemble old tales, but not a historical treatise with every detail checked.

H

The relatives of Gods Scythians had a few legends concerning their origin which they told Herodotus. It is understood that in those ancient times many of people and all peoples without exception one way or another traced their lineage back to divine ancestors or at least to great heroes. Scythians were not inferior to other peoples as regards their genealogy as they considered even two gods Zeus and Borisfen and also one hero Hercules (by the way, the son of Zeus) as their ancestors. The ancient Gods became related thanks to the son of Zeus directly on the banks of the Dnieper, i.e. the Borisfen. It is here, in “the lands called Hylea”, that Hercules became a husband for the daughter of Borisfen Snake-legged Goddess under certain circumstances for some time. Thus, their descendants appeared to be grandchildren of two gods at the same time. One of the three sons was named Scyth by the parents, he is the ancestor of the kings of the people and the country was named after him. The image of Hercules on a silver front strap with gilt. A find from a burial place of a beloved horse of a noble Scythian. The 4th century BC

Snake-legged Goddess. A gold adornment from the burial mound Kul-Oba, the Crimea. The 4th century BC

It was he who got a bow, a belt and Hercules’s bowl fastened to the belt. Two other sons of the hero Agathyrsus and Gelonus had to seek their fortune beyond the borders of Scythia. If we take into account that Herodotus settled the peoples named after them to the North from the steppes of Scyth, then the brothers- exiles didn’t have to go very far. Hercules, Snake-legged Goddess, Borisfen became very popular in the Land for a few hundred years. You can

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A Scythian who bends a bow. A fragment of the image on a gold vase from the burial mound Kul-Oba (the Crimea). The 4th century BC. It is thought that a Scythian who won the competition for the heritage of his father, the mighty Hercules is portrayed here

see their images on coins, adornments of different types, various vessels, horse harnesses, pottery and this is only part of the products which were made by ancient craftsmen of such solid materials as metal and ceramics. You can only try to imagine ancient carpets, pictures, frescoes with scenes which described the life and feats of the ancestors of Scythians. Hercules, when he went away from Scythia forever, left his wife one of his two bows and a belt with a bowl fastened to it. According to the instructions of the hero, one of the sons who will manage to bend the bow will become superior to his brothers, the king. The youngest brother Scyth became the winner in this competition and the Scythian kings traced their lineage back to him. According to another version, the father of the brothers was Papai (this is how Scythians called Zeus). There is a version according to which the hero-ancestor (also a descendant of Zeus) had the name Targitai and the names of his descendants sounded a little different in this case Apoksai, Lipoksai and Kolaksai and among divine gifts a gold bowl, an axe and a plow are mentioned. So, in any case, we are speaking about the divine origin of the Scythian people who were also related to ancient Hellenes. However, it’s worth noting that at the same time Scythians, creating this legend, clearly wanted to root themselves in Pontic area, establishing, A gold front strap with the image of Snake-legged Goddess, the foremother of Scythians

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Snake-legged Goddess: an image on a vessel of the Trypillian culture which was found on the territory of Moldova. The first half of the 4th millennium BC

though only according to the female line, relationship to a local deity, the eternal master of the Dnieper. Since the genealogy of the immortal Borisfen himself was lost in the depth of millenniums. This depth, maybe rather approximately, can still be perceived with the help of the image of his snake-legged daughter which probably for the first time appeared on the pottery of the Trypillian culture as far back as the 4th millennium BC. This image was created in the epoch which is remote from the legendary adventures of Hercules as much as twenty or thirty centuries. But what is some three thousand years for the immortal (and legends)? Hellenes treated the tales of Scythians quite seriously. Since they honored the same Gods and of course, Hercules as well. The image of Borisfen adorned the coins of Olvia and the neighbors called Olviapolits not otherwise than “Borisfenits”. As it often happens, there were attempts to use the ancient legends in political purposes in those times. Thus, some day king Philip II of Macedon in order to justify his campaign deep into the Scythian territories made an official statement that he intended to visit the land of his neighbors not as a conqueror. The king-conqueror claimed that he planned not a military campaign, but a pilgrimage in order to set up a bronze statue of Hercules at his own expense in the lands where this great hero had trav-

Section 14. The descendants of Zeus and Borisfen An image of old Hercules. A fragment of a silver adornment of a horse harness of a Scythian horseman, the 4th century BC

elled. Since at that time Macedonians considered the son of Zeus to be one of their ancestors and even minted his image in lion leather on their coins. And then another descendant of Hercules, the king of Scythians Ateas (by the way, on his tetradrachms there was also an image of the divine ancestor) promised the Macedonian king to melt this statue into points of arrows. As a result, the descendants of Hercules unleashed a full-scale war in North Pontic region (but this will be dealt with a little later1).

“They came from the depth of Asia” In Herodotus’ story about Scythians there are mentions about the fact that they “came from the depth of Asia”. The scientist-Hellene of course, didn’t quite clearly understand this “depth”, to be more exact the distance. But even today, when archeologists found out quite a lot of information about mysterious Asia of the times of Scythia and Scythians, this depth looks quite impressive. For example, the traces of the people who might as well be among the ancestors of Scythians were found in Altai. Probably there are also some traces of the Asian past of Scythians in Ukraine. In 2003 the Platar Collection was enlarged with two swords which are said to be found somewhere in the Crimea. The most incredible about this find was the fact that both swords which were cast in bronze and decorated with the images of demons and letters were made… in China not later than in the 9th century BC. There is an opinion that these weapons came to Europe during one of the first Scythian campaigns. The sad thing is that this find is “accidental” that’s why it is not known how the burial place in which these swords were found looked like and where it was situated. However, this find doesn’t seem to be that incredible taking into Bronze swords. The Tagar culture, the 8th century BC

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These two swords were made in China, in the time of the Zhou Dynasty, i.e. in the 9th century BC. They were found in the Crimea in 2003 (according to V.I. Klochko). Below are hieroglyphs which were used to denote the people Yezhi. This is how Scythians who lived near the northern borders of Tianxia were called in China

account the finds (this time exactly on the territory of Ukraine) of bronze products including swords which have analogs in distant Siberia and in Altai. There is also an interesting hypothesis that once far in Asia, near the borders of Chinese kingdoms of that time a powerful union of nomadic tribes existed. In Chinese records they are known under the name Yezhi, there were even hieroglyphs for their denotation in records. Probably some day the ancient rulers of China even strengthened peace with the powerful chiefs of bellicose Yezhi with the help of marriage bonds. These events are dated to the 8th century BC. However, after the death of the ruler of Yezhi who during his life held power quite firmly a cruel fight for his fortune began. As a result, one of the tribes headed by too ambitious chiefs had to look for another place for roaming somewhere far from “the depth of Asia”. Indeed, Herodotus wrote a story about how Scythians were once forced out to the West by their more numerous and bellicose neighbors. The study of steppe mound antiquities on the territory of Europe showed that at the end of the 8th – the beginning of A sword handle and the 7th century BC Scythians points of arrows decorated with gold. already lived in the North Caucasus; according to some Weapons from burial places of mounds of researchers, it is here that they the Asian ancestral created “the kingdom home of Scythians. The 8th century BC Ishkuza”.

You can find more details about it in section 19 – “The battle for Scythia”

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A single battle of Scythians. A fragment of a gold plate from the burial mound Kul-Oba, the 4th century BC

The beginning of their expansion to North Pontic area which was controlled by bellicose Cimmerians before is dated to the same time. In the new motherland the exiles appeared to be practically the strongest. Their power was not only connected with their number, but also with their military tactics. It’s worth mentioning that the Scythian army mainly consisted of horsemen. Even later, in hard times for them the ratio of the infantry and the cavalry, according to researchers, constituted 2:1. Let’s compare: in the army of the invincible Alexander III of Macedon whose troops went as far as India this ratio was 8:1, i.e. one horseman to eight infantrymen. Horsemen-Scythians, just like all nomads, were traditionally good archers. Shooting a bow at moving targets while galloping was, so to say, a national sport for them. The infantry and even chariots of the enemy were a great target in a battle. Even powerful fortresses could fall as heaving shooting at the enemy’s fortifications was a great cover for a reckless assault.

“Royal Scythians” and even “Scythians-renegades”. As a result, they got quite a large and branchy genealogical tree with an extremely complex system of relations. Some ethnicons are older, some ethnicons are younger. If we remember a diversity of legends about the origin of Scythians, then a conclusion suggests that these legends most likely belonged at least to a few different tribes. So, each Scythian (Budini, Massagetean and so on) told Greeks their own story. It’s also worth noting that Scythians settled down not only in the steppes of Pontic area . Probably even more of them stayed “in the depth of Asia” from the borders of ancient China and India to the northern borders of the huge Persian state at that time. A few powerful Scythian kingdoms were created on this huge territory. Just like Pontic area Scythians, they buried their rulers in grandiose burial vaults filled with gold, weapons, accompanied with beloved horses, wives, concubines and servants. Archeologists are now studying all this with great interest, excavating ancient burial places in Afghanistan, Tuva, Altai or in the Stavropol region. Those Scythians who lived near the northern borders of the Persian state conflicted with its rulers not once. The latter ones were glad, having taken the opportunity, if not to add the lands of nomads to their territories, then at least to recruit horsemen to their own army. Persians left images of warriors, namely Saka, who brought tribute to king Darius I. These warriors really joined the Persian army and became one of their most battle-worthy units. For instance, in the

Scythians and their kingdoms Studying the works of ancient authors, scientists have made a long list of ethnicons (the names of peoples) which were written down as “Scythian” or were considered to be their relatives (which is almost the same) and also historical realia behind which there were some related groups of the population. At the moment of writing these lines, this list already consisted of more than thirty positions from Scythians themselves, Budini, Sauromats, Massageteans, Thyssagetai and others to

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Scythians in Europe and Asia: from the borders of China to the Danube. From Central Asia to the North of India

Section 14. The descendants of Zeus and Borisfen

The Saka, the relatives of Scythians and tributaries of the Persian king Darius I. A fragment of a low relief from Persepolis. The 5th century BC A Scythian horseman from the depth of Asia. A fragment of a carpet which was found in Pazyryk burial mounds, Altai

towns fell. The words “barbarian” and “Scythian” were sometimes synonymous at that time. One of the legions of Rome which was accommodated in Danube area bore the glorious name “Scythian”. Then a number of “Scythian” wars which cost their eastern part a lot were included into the history of the Roman empire (of the second half of the 3rd century BC). It’s worth noting that there were practically no Scythians left in the Pontic area steppes till that time. That time a union of tribes headed by newcomers from the distant European North – Goths acted under the

battle of Gaugamela (which was lost by another king Darius III) while Persians and Macedonians were sorting things out in a single battle, they managed to rob the Macedonian string of carts to a great extent, which eclipsed the greatness of the gained victory to a certain degree. And even though Alexander III of Macedon managed also to intrude into the territories of bellicose Saka later, he never succeeded in defeating the distant relatives of Pontic area Scythians once and for all. Some of Scythian states minted their own coins which preserved the names of ancient rulers. The so-called Indo-Scythians created their state in the North of the peninsula Hindustan. It also included the neighboring areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Once it was one of the biggest and most powerful states of the region. On the coins of local Scythian kingdoms you can see not only traditional images of horsemen, a bow, arrows, but also fancy rods, elephants and even the image of Buddha. So, in ancient times tribes and peoples on a huge territory were called “Scythians”. If you look at the map where all the lands which were once inhabited by Scythians and their relatives are indicated, then you can see that the Pontic area steppes, our beloved “Creat Scythia” resemble a relatively small and modest island against the background of immense Eurasian expanse. However, does the size of a country always determine its place in the history? The glorious name and the glory of Scythians continued to live in the Land hunCoins of the Indo-Scythian kings. The 3rd century BC – the 1st century BC dreds of years after their last kingdoms and

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes glorious name which was still ferocious for their neighbors. And that’s why Gothic historians successfully included all previous great deeds of Scythians to the number of victories of their people. Even the complete defeat of the army of Darius I in the Pontic area steppes (approximately 515–514 BC) was among the victories of the past which had been appropriated in such away. Let me remind you that this event took place in the times the ancestors of Goths still lived in “the island Scandza” far in the North. Thus, powerful and bellicose Scythian kings became “Gothic kings” once and the latter ones became the owners of the great genealogy which traced back to Hercules and Zeus (to say nothing about Borisfen).

The great confrontation The ancient Hellene historian Herodotus described the mentioned above events in the following way: “When… after 28 year absence so much time later Scythians came back to their country, misfortune was waiting for them which was not less than the war with the Medes: they met a powerful hostile army there”. The historian describes further events according to the version of his informers-Scythians who preserved the legends that this army had consisted… of the descendants of Scythian wives and slaves. Then the story describes how this army which had seemed so ferocious at first was pacified with the help of whips. The story about whips is, of course, didactic and hardly probable. But the fact that in Pontic area Scythians could meet “a hostile army” looks quite probable. Since the life didn’t stop here during their Asian campaigns. Neighbors could assume power over some nomads’ camp and that’s why they could want to separate from “any” relatives who roamed somewhere. The veterans of Asian campaigns probably counted on the union with fellow tribesmen and the redistribution of the control over some territories and also the trade routes. However, the new generation saw their future differently than those who had returned from the distant war. Since for those who had already rooted themselves in Pontic area the interests of groups which included them 2

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Hercules vanquishes the Nemean lion. A fragment of a silver adornment of a bridle of a Scythian horse. The 4th century BC

and the most important thing the place in them were much more important for them than the claims of their relativesveterans. In the North the Scythian camps closely bordered upon non-Scythian Foreststeppe with its huge hill fortscities and which is more important, with rather numerous residents and also their own views on the order which must be in the steppe (and not only in the steppe) and who the boss was here after all. Since quite important trade routes went through the steppes to Hellene towns on the shores of the Euxeinos Pontus. Divided into a few large chiefdoms-kingdoms, The Forest-steppe made piles of weapons and armor, having a sufficient number of its own smiths and other craftsmen (and the best imported, namely Scythian, and also other specimens which were not worse). The “knights” of the present-day Poltava and Cherkasy regions were equipped not worse than their steppe neighbors and were not inferior to them as regards their quantity. Besides their rear was securely covered with powerful ramparts which grew around the old and new fortresses. The entire fortified districts were created; they covered the strategic passes through the Dnieper and other rivers and were capable of accommodating the population of the territory of the Forest-steppe. And Scythians wouldn’t have enough warriors even from all the steppes to start the siege of at least one of them. The conflict was inevitable; nomads started making raids to the North which were sometimes accompanied with successful sieges of some of the fortresses2. Since not all the steppe strip was controlled by Scythians in the second half of the 6th century BC. There were still inaccessible lands for them in the interfluve of the Dniester and the Danube, not to mention the lands further to the West. However, at the end of the 6th century BC the events which completely changed the situation occurred. Our Land appeared, as they say, in “the sphere of interests” of one of the mighty Eastern superstates, Persia and the king of all kings Darius I Histaspa who was called the Great for his military achievements and numerous victories.

You can find more details about it in the section “The country of forgotten towns”.

Section 15

The glory of the invincible t seems that the destiny of Scythia was predetermined in advance. It will be conquered by Persians and will become one of the satrapies of the biggest empire which stretched out from India to Egypt. However, the Scythian rulers didn’t hurry to capitulate to the enemy the advantage of which was so obvious to the residents of many civilized countries of Asia and Europe. Scythians took the challenge and thanks to good judgment and resoluteness managed to make the most powerful military vehicle of that time slip. Moreover, the terrible trouble – the intrusion of the hostile army which they repulsed successfully brought them not only the world popularity and the glory of “the invincible”, but also quite tangible political and economic benefits which determined the history of the Land for the next a few centuries.

I

The first World War? According to the version of Herodotus, the formal reason for the intrusion of Persians was a fair desire to revenge the milkers of mares, bad robbers and terrorists from the North. They wanted to revenge old humiliations and offences which had been caused to the ancestors of Persians. There is no doubt that the ancestors of Darius Hystaspes were insulted by Scythians. The details of their raids to the territory of Persia are not preserved in historical chronicles, but the fact that their neighbors-Medes who were as bellicose admitted the superiority of the Scythian king Protothyes is true. Nobody did such things voluntarily in that time. Darius I was born almost half a century after these events and this is quite a big term for the history to be transformed into a tale which calls for revenge. Historians of the Roman time give a more romantic version – The rejected wooing of Darius I to the daughter of the Scythian king (named either Iantir or Antir) gave the King of all kings all the grounds to consider himself deeply humiliated and insulted and thus, to begin gathering a huge army, of course1. If we remember the story how the Median king Cyaxares came to the camp of the king of Scythians Darius I, the ruler of Persia and many other countries who never succeeded in defeating Scythians. A low relief from Persepolis 1

A special reserch of Ye.V. Chernenko is dedicated to the Scythian-Persian war; the author examines all the circumstances and finds connected with it in detail: Е.В. Черненко Скифо+Персидская война. — Киев, 1984. — 120 с. (Ye.V. Chernenko The Scyhtian-Persian war).

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An archer of the Scythian time. An image on the gold plate. The 5th century BC

Madius as a vassal, then the actions of Persians who were the relatives and political successors of Medes can be understood quite clearly and it is even possible to try to explain them in some way. Persians became the owners of a huge empire from the borders of India to Egypt many years later after the devastating Scythian raids. And at this very time somewhere far in the North a successor (or successors) of the Scythian Madius rules his territories and by force of habit still considers the residents of the distant Persian South their subjects. A marriage with a Scythian princess is a formality which will improve the situation in all respects. The question of subordination to barbarians-Scythians will be solved in a peaceful way. This action will not only increase the prestige of Darius in the eyes of the Eastern community, but will also protect the rear from bellicose nomads. Besides, should an The Behistun inscription: the text in honor of the victory of Darius I. On the extreme right among the prisoners you can see the chief of Saka Tigrahauda

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Now the city of Istanbul is situated in this place

opportunity arise, on quite legal grounds (as the close relative of the ruling dynasty) he will be able to add the Scythian lands to Persia. Historians still argue in what year this campaign took place – either in 515 or approximately in 514–513 BC. Darius didn’t want (or couldn’t) to impose economic sanctions against Scythians. By the way, it is not known at all how the latter would react to an embargo on wine from Greece. Since it was useless to block the channels of the delivery of weapons – Scythians forged everything themselves, then he had to plan a full-scale military campaign. Some researchers think that the real purpose of the campaign was not the righteous payback, but concrete economic interests – the submission of Pontic area poleis and the control over the trade in “the Scythian bread” with Greece, the intention to seize Scythian treasures. In reality, the Greek colonies on the northern shores of the Euxeinos Pontus barely stood on their own feet at that time and Scythians themselves (and even their foreststeppe neighbors) were hardly serious “players” on the world grain market. It was much easier for the king of all kings to block the delivery of grain from the northern and other shores of the Pontus – it was enough to send ships to Byzantium2 and to block the channels. The king could get gold (besides, not the purest one, according to the modern studies) in Scythia only in the form of scrap, having stripped the ceremonial weapons and clothes of Scythians after the victory or having dug out old graves. It would hardly be reasonable to try to replenish the state Persian treasure this way. It would be much easier and more effective to take control of gold mines which were developed quite successfully by Thracians at that time.

Section 15. The glory of the invincible

Probable plans of Darius I concerning the campaign against Scythians with gaining the rear of Massageteans

According to other scientists, the plans of Darius I were more large-scale. Besides the punishment of Scythians, the king might plan to establish a new Persian order in Hellas (which was impudent enough to support the separatist struggle of their relatives from the poleis of Asia Minor which were subordinated to Persia with money and mercenaries), on their way to conquer Thrace and after that all Northern Pontic area, the Caucasus and finally – to gain the rear of other nomads-Massageteans who were very dangerous neighbors in the North of Persia. It seemed to be the only way to finally assure the long-anticipated peace and comfort in the outskirts of the huge empire. As a result, the Euxeinos Pontus (this is how they called the Black Sea at that time) would turn into the internal “Persian lake” with all the benefits for the world, i.e. already the Persian trade. The scales and plans are very impressive, but at that time Persians already had a vast experience connected with the fight with nomads. Darius I had already managed to measure swords with Saka Tigrahauda Middle Asia and defeated them: “Their chief named Skunda was taken prisoner and brought to me. Then I made another man the chief because I wanted so. Then the country became mine”3. So, the kings of all kings had reasons to dream of adding to “his country” also the lands where Saka Paradaya, i.e. “overseas Saka”, also called Scythians, lived. Whatever the real reasons for the war were, but the situation for Scythians was more than serious. In any case, Persia represented a huge world empire at that time.

3

He went to the Volga, but he came to Helonus Persians ordered their allies-Hellenes to build a bridge across the Danube. For this purpose they chose a place “where the Ister was separated into two mouths”. Presently this place is between Romanian Tulcea and the Ukrainian town Reni where the Danube is separated into the Sulina and the Kiliya mouths. In ancient times the crossing was near the village of Orlovka where there is still a powerful hill fort. This fortress was built here by Thracians before the coming of Persians. The army of kings crossed the Danube and went deep into the steppes with the help of an immense floating bridge the base of which consisted of battle ships of Ionian Hellenes. According to the estimates of modern historians, Darius set out on a campaign with at least a one hundred thousand army (the ancient historians gave even more incredible figures of six hundred thousand warriors!). Only the list of peoples who offered their warriors and also their weapons occupies quite a lot of pages in the work of the Greek historian Herodotus. The infantry and the fleet were provided by the subordinated Hellene poleis, the residents of Mesopotamia and even by the ancestors of Arab sheikhs on camels. And finally by Persians themselves: battle chariots, cavalry, a 10 thousand elite guard of Darius – “the immortal”. The descendants of Aryans – this time Scythians and Persians clashed not for life, but for death in the Pontic

These words, the description of the achievements of Darius Hystaspes (before the beginning of the campaign against Scythians in Pontic area) are carved on the famous Behistun Rock.

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Reconstruction of a probable route of the campaign of Darius I against Scythians

steppes burnt by the Sun. There are still heated discussions about how far Darius managed to go in his campaign, in what places he was and where exactly he went. Modern estimates of the length of the route of this campaign vary from 3,750 to 5,790 km (back and forth)! Researchers also try to indicate in the map all ethnographic, historical and geographical “realias” which were mentioned in the description of the war. We know that the king left a guard near the bridge and told them to wait for him for 60 days. For these two months he was supposed either to come back or to go farther to the frontiers of his state in the East. All the data suggest that the army of the Persian state went not far than Sea of Azov area, to be more precise the area of presentday Berdyansk. The farthest point in the North is considered to be Helonus – the Belsk ancient settlement in the present-day Poltava region. In order to get to Sea of Azov area, the army of Darius would have not only to Persian warriors with big shields and darts. A fragment of the low relief from Persepolis. The 5th century BC

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go through the steppe, but also to force a crossing over at least three major rivers – the Dniester, the Southern Bug and the Dnieper. In lower reaches of these rivers there are rather many crossings which were quite accessible at that time. It is also worth taking into account that the level of water in the Black Sea (and thus in the rivers of that time, at least in the lower reach) was lower than the present one by a few meters. The beginning of the campaign was successful for Persians – their reconnaissance party captured Scythian warriors for interrogation including a brother of one of the Scythian kings. At that time all the population of the countries of Scythians and their outskirts exceeded the number of the warriors of Darius III by approximately 3 or 4 times at best. Steppe tribes turned for help to northern tribes, Crimean Tauri, but in most cases they received a refusal: “you messed things up and you must get out of it yourselves”. Only Helonians, Budini and distant relatives-Sauromatai who roamed behind the Don decided to send their detachments for help. In such a situation the Scythian army united under the command of three kings used the only possible tactics under these circumstances. The scorched earth policy. Evading straight-line

Section 15. The glory of the invincible

“The invincible”, the personal guard of king Darius I the number of which always amounted to 10,000 warriors. Modern reconstruction

collisions, Scythians drove cattle as far as possible, poisoned water wells, burnt pastures and retreated deeper and deeper into endless steppes. The pursuit went on, burning sun and diseases not only undermined the morale of Persians, but also decreased their number and reduced the fighting capacity of the army. Darius III understood that if it continued further, he would lose all the army in the steppe even without the decisive battle or at least his army would be reduced to a considerable extent (before the battle). And it was only a matter of time. Then the army of Persians was divided – part of it started to entrench themselves “near the river

Iron points of spears of Scythians. The 6th–the 5th century BC 4

Persian warriors: archers with spears. A picture from the palace in Susa, the 6th century BC

Oar” (probably this is the modern river Korsak somewhere near Berdyansk), the rest of the army continued pursuing the elusive enemy. They successfully burnt either the city of Helonus4 or a city of Helonians, but it didn't bring nearer the long-anticipated victory. Destiny seemed to smile on the king of all kings already somewhere in Sea of Azov area. Scythians whose armies had united at last seemed to decide to offer a battle. It is known that Scythian kings were particularly offended by the fact that Darius I had dared to call himself their ruler. Of course, this indignation is explained by the circumstances that according to ancient Eastern notions, the ruler’s subjects were his slaves and thus, Scythians were outraged by the fact that they had been called slaves. However, if we remember that the ancestors of Darius as far back as the times of Madius, a son of Protothyes, admitted themselves to be subjects (i.e. slaves) of Scythians and imagine for one moment that the descendants of Madius didn’t forget it (just like Darius I who didn’t forget the offence caused to his ancestors), then the whole situation looks somewhat different. In other words, it seems that this way the king of Persia announced publicly that he didn’t recognize the

The Persian army hardly reached the Belsk ancient settlement which is identified with the city of Helonus by many researchers. So, it is more likely that they captured a city, to be more precise a fortress, which belonged to Helonians somewhere in Sea of Azov area.

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Scythian horsemen, graphic reconstruction based on the findings of excavations

Scythians’ superiority any more and moreover, he considered them to be his subjects-slaves. Such an official statement looked not just as an offence of the honor and dignity of Scythians. The statement of Darius I and his actions might as well be qualified (from Scythians’ point of view) as an armed mutiny which was accompanied with an intrusion into the lands of the mother country, i.e. an attempt of a coup. In ancient times according to all rules, such actions were supposed to be punished in the most severe way. And the day Scythian warriors of the when both armies end of the 6th century BC, lined up for a battle graphic reconstruction finally came. The based on the findings of excavations horse detachments of Scythians which had been spread out for a shattering attack were about to cover the formations of Persians with clouds of arrows, but at this moment a hare ran across the field. It is understood that Scythians immediately opened a hunting season, having forgotten about Persians and their offences. This story of a battle which hadn’t taken place was written down by Herodotus. At first sight, this story is really strange, but didactic. Most likely the Scythian command, taking into account considerable numerical superiority of the enemy, initially planned only an imitation of military operations, understanding that the natural factors would affect the aggressor much more effectively. Attacking a huge

Persian army which had already lined up for a battle would be at least unreasonable. An image of a clash (or a battle) of Persians with Scythians which once decorated a wooden walls of grave found in Persia has survived to this day. Of course, the main hero (and the winner) is the king (or a noble commander) of Persians who in the center of the composition armed with a sword defeats three adversaries at the same time. Around him there were mounted and dismounted Scythians and Persians, a battle chariot with an archer, in other words, a sanguinary battlefield. Persians had an adequate answer for clouds of Scythian arrows. They themselves were good archers. Their infantrymen were organized and armed exactly for this type of a “fire” battle. In the first lines there were warriors who were

An image of the battle of Persians with nomads, probably Scythians, on a wooden part of a wall of agrave. Approximately 500 BC. Reconstruction according to the original

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Section 15. The glory of the invincible In order to perform this rite they built a ritual mound of brushwood and stone in the steppe. This old sword was put on top of it. At the end of the campaign they sacrificed every tenth prisoner to it. The sacrificial blood was collected in cups and then given to their deity. No doubt, at the end of this war deadly swords in sanctuaries from the Don to the Danube received plenty of blood. It’s worth mentioning that the campaign of Darius brought Scythians not only glory, but also gave them opportunities to extend their influence to the areas of Northern-Western Pontic area which had been inaccessible for them before. Since only after this war Scythian burial mounds appear, for example, in the lower reachThe invincible es of the Tyras and the Ister, i.e. of the Dniester and the Danube. Before that time these lands were controlled by Some time later Darius understood that other tribes including Thracians who had fortresses he practically had no chances to gain a victory near crossings over the Danube and over the in this campaign. It was impossible to go farther; it Dniester estuary. And all these strongholds would be great luck to go back to the Danube which had been impregnable for Scythians crossing and even greater luck to cross this river. for more than a century were destroyed Having abandoned the camp with numerous sick by the army of Darius I already at the and wounded warriors, the king hurried to leave beginning of the campaign to Scythia with the most battle-ready part Scythia. As a result, Steppe of the army. Scythians received a big tribes established control over string of carts and lots of prisoners. trade routes which led from Darius was lucky: Scythians didn’t risk the North to the shores of the capturing the crossing, but confined themPontus, cutting off their selves to negotiations. Hellenes disassembled intractable neighbors from the part of the bridge, but not the whole one. Thus, Forest-steppe from antique fortune smiled on Darius I. poleis. After the end of the military campaign Scythians, Hellenes also got some according to the ancient tradition, thanked the god of war. benefit from this campaign. As the embodiment of Ares, god of war, Scythians paid Persians didn’t damage their homage to a sword. We can try to imagine poleis in Northern-Western what it looked like as during excavations Scythian daggers Pontus – why ravage their quite a lot of Scythian swords were found. It and short swords. The 6th–the 5th allies. Since these colonies might as well be an old steel sword without century BC were withdrawn from the cities of Asia Minor a quillon, with a simple rectangular pommel which were subordinated to the king of all kings. on a handle, the blade of which glittered in Hellene “tyrants”, firm associates of Darius, could also ancient times under the walls of Urartian fortresses and say their weighty word. Since it was them who saved towns of Assyria, Babylonia, Media and Persia and which the king of all kings from a too close and dangerous was kept as a sacred family relic. acquaintance with Scythians. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that Darius Hystaspes himself, a son of Hystaspes, Achaemenid, didn’t consider this war with Scythians to be lost. He was absolutely right in a way. His army advanced in the country of Scythians for hundreds of kilometers. The territories of Scythian kings were ravaged and even a big city Helonus was captured and destroyed. A fortress was built in the lands

dressed in reliable armor which could protect from arrows. They also had a big shield, sometimes higher than human height and a spear. A few rows of archers lined up under the cover of such shields5. Such a formation could be invincible even for the most desperate attack of the cavalry and clouds of arrows wouldn’t give a tangible advantage due to protection and which is more important, due to numerical superiority of the enemy. And casualties due to shooting back would be quite serious. It seems that Scythian kings decided not to risk in vain.

5

Similar tactics was borrowed from Assyrians. The interesting thing is that this formation was restored in Middle Age Europe. In the 14th–the 15th century the same formation was used by mercenaries-infantrymen, only instead of bows they used arbalests or fire arms.

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A king armed with a bow and a spear is portrayed on ancient Persian coins

of the enemy. The fact that there was no decisive battle is also good as the enemy was frightened at the very sight of the invincible Persian army. Even despite serious casualties, Persia just like before remained the most power military force and not a single satrapy, not a single polis got out of its control. Thus, all the signs of a victory over Scythians were obvious both for the Persian elite and the general Eastern public. So, the fact that after the end of the campaign Darius I officially announced himself the ruler of “Saka Paradaya” was taken for granted. Frankly speaking, Scythians had another point of view in this respect. After repulsing the Persian aggression, in righteous anger, Scythian kings sent their cavalry to the right bank of the Danube, which greatly frightened not only Thracians, but also Hellenes who had settled down in towns on the bank. The only thing is Points of Scythian arrows, that they couldn’t cope bronze (magnified)

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with an 80 thousand Persian army which had been left on the European bank and was hiding behind the wall of antique cities. That’s why they probably decided not to force a crossing over the Bosporus. Perhaps Scythian blades and also stone statues of Scythian warriors which were found in Moldova and Dobrudja are witnesses of that campaign. These monuments of “Eternal Glory” portray strong, mustached warriors with swords, axes and daggers fastened to their belts. Adversaries of Persians – first of all Hellenes worked on the reputation of the invincible. Since it was the Hellene tradition that assured glory and the reputation of invincible warriors for Scythians for long centuries. It is quite understood as for a long time Hellenes themselves needed rather inspiring and convincing examples for the moral support in their own, almost hopeless fight against the Persian ruling. In the years after the defeat of the armies of Darius Hystaspes some hot Scythian hotheads were thinking of a new campaign to the Persian territories over the Caucasus. There are mentions about the negotiations of steppe warriors with Spartans who were always ready to revenge the humiliation of Hellas. However, these plans were not destined to be realized. By the way, the story about the campaign to Scythia is repeated in a strange way. A little more than 180 years passed. This time the war will be declared to Persia and Hellenes and Macedonians who were once persecuted and oppressed by Persians will set out on a great campaign. The route will again be planned through the lands of Scythians. Somehow suddenly Hellenes “forgot” about the reputation of the “invincible” Scythians, which is quite understood because they had created it themselves. And as for Scythians, again they will bury great plans of foreign strategists in the Pontic steppes, this time the Macedonian ones. Only in this case nobody wanted to remember or glorify their victory, neither Hellenes, nor Persians6.

These events are described in greater detail in sections 20 and 21: “The campaign of Zopyrion” and “The “Scythian trace” in the victory of the Olbiopolitai”.

Section 16

The Country of forgotten towns aking the lands of Ukraine habitable a few centuries ago, our ancestors paid attention to the remains of fortifications the origin of which was not known. You could encounter ancient abandoned fortresses and towns in the lands from the Dniester and the boundaries of Polissya in the West to Slobozhanshchyna in the East. Even an appropriate word appeared – “Gorodysche” “ancient settlement1” which later became an official name of some populated areas. And ancient earth mounds also attracted attention; this is how numerous villages with the name “Valky” appeared. When archeologists began studying all these earth mounds and ancient settlements in earnest, they determined that most of them had been built long before the appearance of not only Ukraine, but also Rus on the pages of chronicles. Now the age of the construction of these ancient fortresses is called “Scythian” or the early Iron Age (shortly the EIA). Since the age is Scythian, the ancient settlements are also called “Scythian”. However, in reality Scythians, as a rule, had nothing to do with their construction at all. In fact, Scythians at their time most likely wished these huge fortresses had never been built, but when it happened after all, they applied great effort, sometimes vain ones, to capture or destroy them. In those ancient times their neighbors didn’t have a wide choice in the relations with nomads: either to be robbed and pay tribute or to protect themselves. One day the residents of the forest-steppe decided not to pay the new rulers of the steppes and protected themselves in a rather successful way.

M

Babylon in the Forest-steppe This ancient settlement in the Poltava region is indicated on the maps of the General Staff quite precisely. It is not surprising because the length of its ramparts amounts to more than thirty three kilometers2. Let me remind you that the perimeter of the walls of Assyrian Nineveh under which Scythians under the command of king Madius distinguished themselves amounted “only” to twelve kilometers. A huge triangle with its apex to the South surrounded by high ramparts along the perimeter occupies the area of about forty square kilometers. It is by five times more than the mentioned above city in distant Mesopotamia and almost by ten times more than the glorious city of Kyiv in the 13th century. In the western and eastern parts of the ancient settlement there are two citadels which are separated with ramparts from the internal part of fortifications. The dimensions of the citadels are also very impressive – the perimeter of the walls of the eastern one amounts to four kilometers. Now The Belsk ancient settlement, also called the city of Helonus, on the map of the General Staff

1 2

That is a place where there was a town, remains of an ancient fortified settlement — ukrainian “Gorodysche”. The Belsk ancient settlement and its study till the 1980s of the 20th century are described in detail in the monograph of the scientist who has been researching this outstanding monument for a few decades: Б. А. Шмарко Бельское городище скифской эпохи (город Гелон). — Киев, 1987. — 183 с. (B. A. Shmarko The Belsk ancient settlement of the Scythian Age (the city of Helonus)).

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Reconstruction of a wall which was built on a rampart of the ancient settlement according to the findings of the excavations by B.A. Shramko

Ramparts of the Belsk ancient settlement in the Poltava region (according to the findings of the excavations by B.A. Shramko)

the height of ramparts still equals from three to five meters and taking into account the deep (up to 3.5 m) ditch, even eight. Excavations showed that there was also a wall of wood along the rampart which was filled with ground and

clay inside and the initial depth of the ditch equaled 5.6 m. These fortifications were repaired and lengthened a few times. Even a chariot could go on the fortress wall (its width equaled three meters) just like on the walls of Nineveh. The entrance to the fortification was guarded by a wooden tower which leant on the edges of a ground mound. The width of the gate amounted to about eight meters and the edges of the entrance were faced with masonry so that the passing carts didn’t catch on the walls. You could stop the enemy who forced through in this long corridor of the gate. In the western fortification in front of the gate a ditch was dug; it was possible to cross it over a wooden bridge. Excavations showed that the construction of a grandiose fortress started with these two citadels. Then they began building the main rampart of “the Great Belsk ancient settlement”. Its length amounted to more than 25 km. And now its height equals from 5.4 to 7 m and in ancient times it was even higher. If you also add the depth of the ditch which amounted to 9.5 m from the bottom of the rampart, then the total height amounts to more than 16 meters. Reconstruction of fortifications of the Liubotyn ancient settlement according to the findings of the excavations by B.A. Shramko

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Section 16. The Country of forgotten towns Even in those ancient settlements where ramparts were at first sight of a small height, at the bottom of a rather wide ditch which was not noticeable from a distance, an unpleasant surprise in the form of sharp stakes might as well wait for invaders. To get over such an obstacle was difficult not only in a mounted formation, but also in a dismounted formation, moreover, under the fire of archers who hid on the fortress wall. The builders of ancient fortresses took care of water supply as well. In the northern-eastern part of the Belsk ancient settlement the rampart was blocked by a steep bank creating a weir on a small stream. Small rivers ran through some of the ancient settlements, for instance, the Pastyrske one. So, in case of a siege, the defenders were not supposed to have any problems with water. At first archeologists couldn’t believe that all the territory of huge ancient settlements was once inhabited. As far back as forty years ago many scientists thought that this territory was surrounded with ramparts with the only purpose of constructing a winter shelter for cattle. However, long-term excavations (which still continue) not only made it possible to determine the time of the construction of different parts of settlements, but also to determine the building density, which gave an idea of the possible number of their residents. It turned out that the housing development of ancient settlements was based on farmsteads. Each farmstead consisted of a few buildings both residential and utility ones which were surrounded by fences. The area of farmsteads, judging by the excavations of the Eastern fortification, was quite different from 169 to 1,480 square meters. In the Motronynske ancient settlement the average area of farmsteads amounted to seven hundred square meters, which corresponds to the modern standards for urban-type settlements.

Dwellings were quite diverse. The remains of ordinary rectangular buildings with a framework structure were found. Ancient builders gladly used wood for making blockhouses. Archeologists even found two-storied buildings with a dwelling on the second floor and utility rooms on the lower level. In many ancient settlements they found rounded buildings the roof of which was supported by a post dug in the center of the room. But these are in no way the remains of nomad’s tents because they were dug in the ground. A rectangular tambour through which people went into a dwelling adjoined a room of the rounded form with a diameter of 3 or 4 m. The construction of a roof was also supported by walls which were situated at a certain distance from the timbered walls of the foundation pit. This way they increased the useful area under the roof. In big farmsteads (with the area of more than 700 square meters) where archeologists found a few dwellings most often about 20 or 25 residents could live, according to the estimates of the researchers. Between farmsteads there were lanes with the width from two to three or four meters. Of course, they were not very smooth and intersected not at a right angle. On the other hand, let’s not forget that as far back as the eighteenth century all Kyiv Podil had as many as three streets and according to the opinion of modern scientists, they were rather curved. The widest lanes led to the gate. In front of the gate there might be large squares which were more necessary not for trade, but for the formation of the army before setting out. Of course, there could be undeveloped squares in the center of a settlement as well. With the exception of lanes and undeveloped sites near fortifications, about 30% of the territory of ancient settlements was left for building farmsteads. It means, that, for example, in Belsk the number of farmsteads

A farmstead in the Motronynske ancient settlement. Reconstruction on the basis of the findings of excavations (according to S.A. Skoryi)

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Reconstruction of rounded dwellings of the early Iron Age, Britain. The remains of similar buildings were found in many ancient settlements of the early Iron Age on the territory of the Land

could amount to fifteen or twenty thousand. So, according to the most modest estimates, from a few dozen to one hundred and more thousand people could stay on the territory of “Poltava Babylon” at the same time. Whether they lived there permanently or could hide in case of danger is another question. In any case, the protection of such immense fortifications required thousands of warriors, otherwise the construction of multikilometer ramparts and walls would be a waste of time. When were ramparts made and multikilometer walls of the biggest fortress of Europe of the early Iron Age built? The construction started as far back as the 8th century and lasted in the 7th century and repair work lasted The plan of the Nemyriv ancient settlement and Scythian points of arrows which were found on its territory. The 6th century BC

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Section 16. The Country of forgotten towns The Nemyriv ancient settlement (the Vinnytsia region) in space pictures

in the 6th century as well. So, the construction of the Belsk ancient settlement was started in those ancient times when Cimmerians had no plans to move to “the country Gamirra” yet and unclear rumors about the invincible Scythians were brought by trade caravans from the depth of Asia. The construction was accelerated (and extended) when the situation changed with the appearance of Scythian hordes in the steppes. Similar ancient settlements are known near Kyiv (Khotiv, Khodosivka ancient settlements) and Pereiaslav, in Liubotyn and Trakhtemyrov, in many places on both banks of the Dnieper – the Borisfen. When the destroyers of Nineveh came back from Asian campaigns, “Poltava Babylon” (and numerous smaller fortresses) seemed to be quite ready to meet the unexpected guests. In these days in the outskirts of Nemyriv in the Vinnytsia region you can see powerful, multimeter ramparts which protected the territory with the area of two square kilometers two and a half thousand years ago. They are quite noticeable even on pictures which are taken from a satellite! One thing is for sure, as far back as one and a half thousand years before the first Kyiv knyazes, sovereigns (tsars, kings?), in other words, powerful rulers of residents from different tribes of Podillya, the Cherkasy region, the Poltava region whose names we don’t know had many more material and human resources than the rulers of Rus in the period of its highest power.

ic, administrative, military and religious center of a considerable territory, then the answer is positive: thus, fortified ancient settlements of the early Iron Age are really towns. There are also monumental buildings here: these are fortifications themselves in which enormous material and human resources were invested. Dozens of thousands of square meters of wood were used for the walls of each

Can an ancient settlement be considered a town? Quite a legitimate question arises: are there grounds to call these huge and probably densely populated fortresses “towns”? At first sight dugouts and twostoried blockhouses even if they are surrounded by powerful ground ramparts and wooden walls don’t look like a town if compared with the towns of Hellas, to say nothing about the Far East. If you consider a town to be a populated area where many people live (in Ukraine this level equals 10,000 residents now) which is an econom-

Excavations of dugouts of the Scythian time in the Pastyrske ancient settlement

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Excavations of the remains of dwellings with ovens, the Basivka ancient settlement

fortress and the scope of earthwork operations (digging without the use of any machines, manually) boggles the imagination even now. The fact that there are no stone temples, ziggurats, big palaces suggests only the difference of the cultural tradition from the one of the East or Hellas. Eventually, the local community found it necessary to invest their resources in the buildings which were the most essential for that moment. And a thirty kilometer fortress wall sometimes looks like a much more convincing symbol of power and wealth for too bellicose neighbors than a beautiful temple made of marble and

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decorated with gold and silver. It is more likely that such a temple can only do harm if it strikes the eye of hungry neighbors. It is thought that towns are the centers of craftsman's industry, which actually feeds their residents. However, even the resident of medieval Kyiv couldn’t do without vegetable gardens, hayfields, apiaries and other subsidiary husbandry. Even in the streets of a province city including Lipki as far back as the first half of the 19th century there were domestic animals, and the local authorities tried in vain (at least during the visit of the sovereign-emperor) to take away dirty pigs from pools. What can we say about the residents of the Belsk ancient settlement who were much closer to the land in a literal meaning of this expression. Their farmsteads were buried in verdure of fruit trees; stones of apples and pears were found. Trees not only served as decoration and protection from the sun and dust, but also fed them; ovens for drying fruit were found. And all the same residents brought food not only from fields, vegetable gardens and orchards near their dwellings. Numerous traces of craftsman’s industry: different workshops connected with leather, bone and horn working, weaving and pottery were found. Smiths including armorers also worked in the settlement. All the range of labor instruments and tools were forged of iron – from sickles and tine points to wood cutters. Metal was made of brown iron ore and bloomery furnaces were placed on the territory of the settlement. Skillful craftsmen knew all the techniques of iron working – from hardening to carburization. Only in the Belsk ancient settlement they found more than 40 kinds of products of iron including swords, battle axes, points of spears and plates for armor. Just like in ancient times bronze casting production was flourishing. Only now it was connected first of all

Section 16. The Country of forgotten towns

Fragments of pottery of the Basivka ancient settlement

with the production of adornments, especially for horse harnesses. Foundries also worked for the defense industry making bronze points of arrows. Copper from the brought ore was smelted on-site; they didn’t reject ingots of metal and metal scrap either which were accumulated in a workshop. They also found the traces of jewelry production in which gold was used. Such production is impossible without the widest trade relations. First you need to get raw materials and then to sell products. Since the scales of the production of craftsman’s products was rather large and were intended not only for the residents of the settlement. Of course, most buyers lived and worked in the outskirts. Local jewelers or smiths, to say nothing about potters or weavers, hardly had any chances to sell their products somewhere in the South in a profitable way. The following products came from Hellene towns to the Forest-steppe: wine, ceramic and metal vessels, glass beads, jewelry, in other words, a typical range of goods when trading with an underdeveloped region. You can study the intensity of trade relations and the condition of the economy of poleis on the shores of the Pontus and even in the distant Mediterranean basing on the fragments of amphorae and marks on them (to be more precise, basing on the number of containers). Fragments of amphorae, containers for imported strong drinks and oil which were found in a forest-steppe settlement of the Scythian time

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Sometimes the journey with another batch of goods to the distant North ended in a tragic way and not because of perfidious robbers. In the high-water bed of the river Supoy, in the layer of peat they found the remains of a single-tree boat loaded with a luxurious (and rather expensive even in those times) set for drinking wine which consisted of a dozen and a half gilded bronze vessels. The skeleton of the unlucky trader was found nearby – the boat overturned and went to the bottom together with its cargo of precious vessels. A few rings with seals were found in the Belsk ancient settlement. They might as well belong to Hellene merchants who came to the North with a batch of goods. And maybe they were ordered from Hellenes by local traders in order to attach a seal to agreements and to bales of goods? Trade was respected by residents of ancient settlements and the local authorities: many fortifications were built in such a way so as to cover ancient (although some of them were used as far back as the 17th–the 18th century) routes.

The outskirts of a town

Excavations of the remains of a porter’s furnace in a settlement of the early Iron Age

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It is widely thought that around a “real” town there must be a lot of villages which in exchange for products made by craftsmen provide toilers-town residents with foodstuff. Since the outskirts of the Belsk ancient settlement were studied rather thoroughly, using this example, we will try to show what the system of settlement could look like in ancient times. When all the settlements of the appropriate time were indicated on the map by archeologists, it turned out that among them there were not only villages of grain growers and cattle-breeders (there were hundreds of them), but also plenty of fortified ancient settlements. In the radius of up to 100 km around Belsk there were more than fifty(!) ancient settlements. They were situated mostly along the banks of rivers which fell into the Dnieper or the Seversky Donets. Belsk itself is situated in a strategically important place where the route from the upper reaches of the Donets to the Dnieper lay. Among ancient settlements there are rather big ones which can also be called towns and small ones which could be fortresses. Around them there are open villages. All ancient settlements cover some routes which lie along rivers or across watersheds. The distance between fortifications doesn’t exceed, as a rule, 11 or 17 km. So, even the slowest caravan with well-loaded carts taking into account the bad conditions of ancient roads could find protection, shelter and lodging for the night within one day. All this system looks as organized as the one of the Great Silk Road the order and safety of which was assured by big and civilized states of the past. However, the rulers of Belsk didn’t limit themselves to building ancient settlements of different sizes.

Section 16. The Country of forgotten towns

Belsk-Helonus and its outskirts. The scheme of the location of ancient settlements and other fortifications. Legend: 1 — Helonus, 2 — other ancient settlements; 3 — fortifications on the Muravsky Trail

They created a system of the defense of the country’s frontiers which forewent for one thousand years the system of Serpent's Wall with the help of which Kyiv knyazes tried to fence themselves off from the raids of steppe hordes. It’s worth noting that the rulers of the Scythian Age were sometimes much better strategists than their distant descendants. Where the Muravsky Trail which is sadly known for Tatar raids comes to the Southern boundaries of the Forest-steppe, it crosses the watershed between the rivers Mzha and Kolomak. The crossing is rather narrow here and is limited by swampy valleys of the rivers. Exactly in this place as far back as the early Iron Age they made a ground rampart and dug a ditch with the length of more than 3 km. This is how this place is described in a record made in the 17th century:

“…the ditch was about three meters wide and about two meters deep or in some parts even more… And you can’t go around it from both sides… except that place there is no other way to go past the swaths of the Tatar passage along the Muravsky Trail”. A sentry post was

Fragments of pottery of the Scythian time from a settlement of the early Iron Age in the outskirts of the town of Rzhyschiv. The 6th–the 5th century BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes outpost against Tatars, warriors who took up a defensive position here protected the quiet of the country which stretched out for a few days of walk around the Belsk ancient settlement. Similar systems of fortifications were discovered in other regions of the Forest-steppe as well. They covered their owners first of all from unexpected visits from the South, from the steppe. Thus, the whole fortified district was built in the area of crossings over the Dnieper between Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi on the left bank and Bukryn and Zarubyntsi on the right bank of the Dnieper.

Who built the town?

Ramparts of the Khotiv ancient settlement near Kyiv

founded there (or to be more exact, was renewed) in 1646. In 1914 near the internal side of the rampart they found traces of a settlement, something like a “bogatyr’s outpost”, which belonged to the residents of the Foreststeppe. So, as far back as two thousand years before the

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There is an opinion that Scythians themselves started building ancient settlements after they had seen flourishing cities of Asia. True, Belsk is not very similar to Nineveh if we don’t take into account big dimensions. It is also thought that such populated places became a reliable rear and workshop of the military-industrial complex of Great Scythia from the Danube to the Don. However, there are no proofs that nomads in ancient times or in more recent times had anything to do with building towns. Did Scythians become an exception to this rule? It is hardly so. Let’s try to examine this situation. Since to the North of the nomads’ camps of “Royal Scythians” Herodotus put the territories of “Scythiansplowmen”, at first they counted most discovered ancient settlements behind them. Although in fact, from the point of view of nomads-Scythians, the prefix “plowmen” looks obscene and even somewhat humiliating. When excavations started, it turned out that the material culture of the residents of ancient settlements, first of all pottery, was quite different from the steppe, Scythian one. Moreover, in the course of the study of this pottery it was determined that sometimes within one ancient settlement a few archeological cultures were represented. And not only pottery was different, but types of dwellings were different as well: rectangular, framework and timberwork structures, rounded with a pyramidal roof – something like an ethnographic museum under the open sky. Part of pottery and building traditions are traced to the Chornoliska culture which is sometimes called “Proto-Slavic”. And “pavilions” and polished pottery which was sometimes decorated with an ornament inlaid with white paste belong to traditions con-

Section 16. The Country of forgotten towns

“The country of towns”, Scythians and Hellenes. Legend: 1 — ancient settlements of the Forest-steppe; 2 — Hellene poleis

nected with cultures further to the West. Such buildings in the early Iron Age were spread all around Europe as far as Italy and even Britain. In “Scythian” ancient settlements they also find the traces of the bearers of cultures which are further to the North from the territories which are attributed to Finno-Ugric peoples and Balts. Surprising as it is, but all this diversity is combined sometimes within the boundaries of one farmstead and even separate dwellings. The study of burial grounds revealed a lot of interesting facts about the composition of the residents of ancient settlements. Now there are still hundreds and maybe even thousands of burial mounds in the outskirts of ancient fortresses. Some of them, as it turned out, contained burial places which were traced to Cimmerian and Scythians ones basing on instruments (weapons, horse bridles, adornments).True, the funeral rite by no means always for 100% corresponded to the steppe traditions, but they credited it with different influences and the evolution of ideological views.

In the center of the Forest-Steppe, on the river Ros they excavated burial places of the Scythian military elite who once ruled in these lands. On a high bank, under small burial mounds near the town of Steblevo they studied burial places of warriors who were buried from the 8th to the 4th century BC. In the most ancient graves they found weapons and armor of the times of coming “from the depth of Asia” or the campaigns to the walls of Nineveh and in more recent ones besides blades and spears already of the local production they found Greek amphorae which had been brought from the Mediterranean and Olvia. Adornments of the Pidhirtsi culture. The Kyiv region. The 8th–the 7th century BC

A cup decorated with a carved ornament inlaid with white paste from a burial place of the Chornoliska culture in the Cherkasy region. The 8th century BC

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Ancient settlements of the Forest-steppe on the left bank of the Dnieper. Legend: 1 — centers of different groups of the population; 2 — smaller ancient settlements; 3 — fortifications against raids

In the same way the traditions of a few different tribes, sometimes three or four and even more are traced in the culture of the population of ancient settlements. Proto-Slavs, Thracians, Balts and Finno-Ugric peoples, Scythians and Cimmerians, a union of different peoples, just like in towns of Mesopotamia. Such a union is called “complex chiefdom”, because it includes representatives of different ethnoses each of whom had their own place of residence and their own chiefs from the earliest times. It is significant that such a plural composition of the population is usually considered to be a true sign of the processes of political integration, the final summary which, as a rule, leads to the creation of a state. There were a few similar unions-chiefdoms (some of them were not inferior to Old Russian princedoms in terms of sizes) within the boundaries of the Forest-steppe. One of the most powerful ones was situated in Livoberezhya with its center in Helonus-Belsk, others were situated on the right bank of the Dnieper. Their “capitals” were Trakhtemyriv and Nemyriv ancient settlements-giants. It only remains to answer the question who the leader of “Scythians-plowmen” of Herodotus was, to say nothing about Budini, Helonians and other residents of the Forest-steppe who are unknown to us. It’s is widely thought that all of them were “controlled by Scythians”. That’s why they found so many burial places of warriors here including the elite. It is also thought that from time to

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time the local population rebelled and Scythians came and burnt some of the fortresses with the purpose of the prevention of separatism. However, now it becomes clear that all this system of fortifications appeared before the coming of Scythians to Pontic area in the first place and was built at a breakneck pace exactly at the time “the limited steppe contingent” was imposing order in distant Asia. It is quite possible that that part of Scythians who refused to take part in the Asian campaign greatly changed their way of life for a few decades. The steppe chiefs – Cimmerian and Scythian – merged with the ruling Chornoliska-Hallstatt elite of the tribes of the Forest-steppe. They were admitted just like Slavs admitted Varyags one millennium later. As a result of the union, a few rather powerful tribal unions-chiefdoms appeared; they controlled the Foreststeppe strip along both banks of the Dnieper – the Borisfen. Economic flourishing of tribal unions of the Foreststeppe was promoted to a considerable extent by the trade with Pontic area Hellene colonies. With the absence of any quite powerful military force in the steppe, it was conducted directly. The number of antique imports – ceramics, amphorae for wine, other products which were found not only in burial places of rulers and warriors, but also in ancient settlements is impressive. However, some of these trade channels were soon blocked by Scythian clans who had come back from the Asian campaign. They settled down in the steppes in a serious way and for a long time.

Section 16. The Country of forgotten towns

A space picture and the plan of the Trakhtemyrov ancient settlement and the finds of the Scythian weapons: traces of an assault which was made by nomads in the 6th century BC

An answer to this challenge was the building of additional fortifications which covered strategic routes from the North to the South. Horse detachments of “their own” Scythians and Cimmerians could as well assure not only the protection of the borders, but also the safe movement of trade caravans to antique cities on the shore. The foreststeppe rulers could not only take under their protection those who didn’t fit into the new Scythian community, but also hire Scythian detachments as the rulers of Assyria and Babylon did it quite successfully for a long time.

But what about “the Scythian control” over the Forest-steppe? As long as the fortified districts of, for example, Helonus which consisted of dozens of fortresses and frontier fortifications was in a good condition, what control are we speaking about? As long as the Trakhtemyriv and also the left bank fortifications covered the crossing over the Dnieper, you could only dream of successful raids to this country. Of course, Scythian chiefs tested the strength of the nerves and fortresses of their neighbors more than once or twice. Archeologists man-

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Bronze points of arrows, a reminder of the unexpected guests-Scythians who visited one of the ancient settlements of the Forest-steppe in the 5th century BC

Bronze parts of a horse harness with the elements of “the Scythian animal style”. The 5th–the 4th century BC

aged to find the traces of one of such attacks of Scythians on the Trakhtemyriv ancient settlement. It took place in the first half of the 6th century BC, i.e. almost after the return of nomads from Asian campaigns. The main blow was delivered in the area of the gate where the walls were intensively shot from bows (they found 67 points of arrows including the ones which had been bent against the stonework). The attackers were shot at from different types of bows if we judge from the diversity of points of arrows. Under “the covering fire” a successful assault was started. There were casualties among Scythians, some of them fell in a ditch in heavy armor; not only torn protective iron plates, but also daggers were found there. However, it didn’t stop the assault. On the territory of the fortification they found traces of devastation including the remains of local residents which had been buried in a mass grave. It turns out that the attackers had to go away in the end and the res-

idents of the Trakhtemyriv ancient settlement had to restore their settlement after burying the killed. The fact that in the middle of the 6th century BC Scythian detachments, after all, turned to the West and went behind the Carpathians2, can suggest that the first attempt to impose their ruling on the Forest-steppe wasn’t very successful. However, any “control” in ancient times started with weakening the defense capability of the enemy – first of all with destroying fortifications on their borders and around major cities, the devastation of the rural area. The weakened enemy could do only one thing in such a situation: to pay tribute and to hold their tongue. The rulers of the steppes, bellicose “royal” Scythians approached the solution of this problem only after repulsing the invasion of Darius I. It was then that they became rightful (and only) rulers of the steppes for the 5th century BC and which is more important, participants of the Pontic area trade, having undermined the monopoly of their northern neighbors. The traces of numerous fires, i.e. attacks on many forest-steppe fortifications are dated to this time. And bronze points of arrows taken from ramparts and the remains of buildings in ancient settlements were “the visiting cards” of Scythian raids. A lot of details of the events which occurred in those times are still to be found out by archeologists. Only one fact remains: less than two centuries later A bowl with glossing, the once flourishing land turned into a Dnister area. The th th country of forgotten towns for long. 6 –the 5 century BC

2

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You can find more details about it in the final part of section 13 “From Cimmeria to Scythia”.

Section 17

The production of weapons of the Scythian time eapons and the battle tactics of Scythians combined almost all the achievements of the military science which were known before the appearance of fire arms. The new rulers of the steppe rather successfully combined the advantages of armored “knightly” cavalry with shooting accuracy of Mongolian archers. All this battle might was assured by the work of mostly local craftsmen. Thanks to the tradition to equip warriors with all the necessary things for continuing the military career in the other world, we know about the weapons and military accoutrement of that epoch much more than, for example, about the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Rus. Part of products which have survived to this day have prototypes in the countries from which Scythian veterans came back, something was found on-site. Skillful armorers improved the imported specimens and created real masterpieces of the military-design thought which arouse surprise and respect even now. However, sometimes it is difficult to distinguish “genuine Scythian” specimens from sets of weapons which were made by their neighbors, especially in the Forest-steppe.

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Armored horsemen In modern computer games sometimes you can see Scythian horse warriors as characters who are bare to the waist and are always ready to rush at the enemy with a sword or a spear1. Perhaps such things also happened in ancient times, but if we judge Scythians by the finds in

burial places, they hardly went to fight naked like their contemporaries, Celtic warriors. Actually the history of the cavalry protected with armor can be started with the Scythian epoch in our Land. They found quite a lot of stone statues of warriors of that epoch. Sometimes the details of equipage and weapons are shown on stone with documentary precision. On the

The image of a fight between Scythians. A fragment of the gold comb from the burial mound Solokha

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For instance, Total War.

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A range of iron plates for making Scythian protective armor. Modern reconstruction

famous gold comb which was found in the burial mound Solokha the upper part of the body of a horseman is covered with scaly armor. You can even see that metal plates are fastened to the base (probably leather one) and the edges are carefully fringed. The back is additionally covered with a shield and on the head there is a helmet which was made in a Hellene workshop. Excavations showed that such equipage was spread not only among Scythians, but also among their northern neighbors, in the Foreststeppe. For quite a long time archeologists limited themselves to studying finds2, their cataloging, creating the topology of metal plates (many pieces of armor have survived to this day in the form of wretched rusty fragments) and couldn’t always understand how this or that part had been fastened, why they had been made with this form and finally how much time it had taken to make such armor. They didn’t quite understand how a warrior had felt in a complete battle Scythian equipage either. Researchers wouldn’t have found out the details of the Scythian production of weapons if a set of armor in a rather good condition from a burial place excavated in the Cherkasy region hadn’t fallen into the hands of archeologists3. After the end of the excavations a question about its restoration arose as having lain in the ground for two and a half thousand years, the iron could turn into rust in a few years. However, the restorer O.I. Minzhulin didn’t limit himself to fastening the remains of the armor. While numerous plates were being worked and preserved (and it took no less than six years), he studied the design created by ancient armorers in the most thorough way. He even managed to find the traces of repair and even the hits of 2

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arrows which couldn’t pierce metal plates. In the process of work it occurred to the restorer to try to reproduce all the set of armor of a Scythian warrior4. This was the only way to try to find answers to numerous questions which piled up during the study of the Scythian protective armor and to see what exactly a Scythian “knight” looked like. Scientists had contented themselves with only graphic reconstructions before. During the work they recorded the time which was necessary for different operations. This way they could find out how much time it took the Scythian craftsmen to decently “dress” one horse warrior in armor. Thanks to this unique (till now) experiment they managed not only to find out some secrets of armorers of Scythia, but also to think about the economic aspect of “the military-industrial complex” of the Scythian time. The metal constituent of all parts of the armor, i.e. the shield and the helmet, numbered almost a dozen and a half types of plates of different size. They were cut out of flat steel with the thickness of 0.6 mm. It took 33 working days and the total weight of plates amounted to 13.5 kg. Then in each of the 3,300 plates they had to make from three to five or even more holes. And all this was done manually with the help of a punch. These several dozens of thousands of holes were necessary for sewing plates on the base of leather and they were supposed to be sewed in a certain order. Sometimes a craftsman had to use three needles at the same time in order to fasten plates in the necessary succession. All the work till sewing on belts and strings took 213 light days. This figure is impressive, but it can hardly be considered final. At least because ancient armorers didn’t use flat steel and they had to forge every plate separate-

The work in which the finds of protective armor of the Scythian time are gathered: Е. В. Черненко Скифский доспех. — К., 1968. (Ye.V. Chernenko The Scythian armor). Excavations of V.P. Grygoryev near the village of Hladkivshchyna of the Cherkasy region in 1982. This find can now be seen at the exposition of the Cherkasy regional local history museum. You can find more details about the restoration and the reconstruction of the armor in a few articles and also in the book: О. Мінжулін Реставрація творів з металу. — К. , 1998. — С. 134—149 (O. Minzhulin The restoration of the products of metal).

Section 17. The production of weapons of the Scythian time Reconstruction of protective armor and weapons of a Scythian warrior made by A.I. Minzhulin basing on the materials of the excavations in the burial ground near the village of Hladkivshchyna

ly. Besides, it was obligatory to harden thin plates to increase their strength. So, it would be worth taking into account these aspects as well. In order to make other pieces of equipage and weapons from sewing boots and trousers to a sword and a sheath, it took another 42 days. So, the total time of the work connected with making this set amounted to 255 days. It became clear that such work required elementary cooperation, the use of the work of numerous assistants, apprentices, in other words, a team of 12 to 15 workers. Such a group could spend from 17 to 22 working days on making the equipage of a Scythian “knight”. They hardly managed to make the equipage for more than one squad for one year and it would take them not less than two years to make the equipage for a platoon. But in order to make this production work to the fullest extent, raw materials fields must be developed. Only one set of weapons equals 15.5 kg of iron, 0.1 kg of bronze. 6 m2 of leather, to say nothing about beeswax, fat, threads, fabric, charcoal for the furnace and plenty of other things which are necessary for the production. It is understood that Scythian armorer’s workshops had to work continuously in order to properly supply everybody who could order something like that. Every year they had to compensate for the natural loss of weapons. Since every dead warrior took with him to the other world the best armor and a set of weapons. And this is without taking into account casualties in the battlefield, current repairs, etc. Perhaps everybody had enough work from craftsmen from Scythian nomads’ camps to Hellenes and the residents of ancient settlements in the Forest-steppe.

Protective armor was rather spread among Scythian warriors. It was promoted by a relative simplicity of the design of composite armor: bronze and iron plates are rather simple as regards their production. The remains of such products can be found in the graves of ordinary warriors and in burial places of the elite you can find two or three sets of protective armor at the same time. As for the battle properties of armor, the tests showed that in a full battle gear with the weight of up to 25–30 kg (including the weight of the helmet 2.2 kg, the composite armor 17.5 kg) a warrior remained rather mobile and could as well fight not only astride, but also on foot. The protective armor assured the protection of vitally important parts of the body from blows with a sword, a spear and from hits of arrows. The shield which was fastened with the help of a special clasp from behind and controlled with belts which are put on arms securely covered not only the back, but also the upper part of the body from the sides. In the set from Hladkivshchyna which was used as the prototype for the reconstruction a greave is missing, but it was also known at that time. They used both bronze knemidas of the Hellene production and specimens of the local design made of plates and strips of metal sewed on leather. They improved imported products – they cut off from the top and from internal sides so that a horseman’s feet didn’t slide on the sides of a fast horse. A bronze sheathknemida which was found in a burial place of a Scythian warrior. The 5th century BC

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The excavations of a burial place with the grave of a Scythian horseman-warrior. The 5th century BC

There are grounds to claim that Scythian breeders worked hard on breeding rather strong and enduring horses which were capable of carrying a warrior in a full battle gear. It is very noticeable when studying horse burial places which accompany ancient horsemen. Since every “knight” was accompanied to the other world either by one or sometimes even by a few horses and the elite and kings would take dozens of fast horses with them. They also tried to defend horses by covering them like horsemen, especially from the front, with armor of iron plates sewed on leather.

The main weapon of Scythians We can argue for long about what kind of weapon Scythians considered the main one. They were portrayed with swords and spears, axes and darts. These types of weapons are found by archeologists in burial places in quantities. However, there is one type of Scythians weapons which had been found only a few times for the whole long history of excavations – this is a bow5. Although in pre-ancient times among the divine gifts from heaven a golden axe was received, however, it is Hercules’s bow which was 5

bent during the competition that opened the path to power to his son, Scyth. Scythian bows are known to us mainly thanks to the images on gold products and also on antique vases. You can notice that the neighbors of the steppe warriors were impressed most of all not by the Scythians-spearmen or Scythians-swordsmen. No, most often Hellenes and their neighbors remembered deadly arrows which hit without misses. Such attention is not accidental – in battles of that time most casualties in the contingent were connected with such a weapon as an arrow shot from a bow, a spear or a dart thrown by a skillful and strong hand. However, a spear and a dart are really dangerous only at a distance of less than 30 meters. But an arrow is a different matter. In Hellene Olvia they found a plate on which there was an inscription with a mention of a record shot from a bow for a distance (in terms of the modern measurement system) of about 520 m. It is thought that in order to establish this record a Scythian bow was used; there are also corresponding images of Hellenes there. This shot could hardly be aimed, but the distance of 200 or 300 meters, to say nothing about 100 meters, is a different matter. We can see quite a small bow on images. However, the secret of the strength of the Scythian bow is hidden not in its size, but in its design. This is a complex bow assembled of certain parts which were made not only of wood, but also of leather and horn glued together layer-by-layer. Making such a weapon is as effortful as making protective armor or forging a sword. That’s why there weren’t many really skilful armorers who made bows. However, big bows were known to Scythians as well, i.e. the weapons of archers were not unvaried. Perhaps there were clannish and tribal types of designs and maybe the catch was in the availability of those skillful armorers. You had to respect such a dangerous weapon. Even an ordinary Scythian decorated it with carved points of bone. A bow was carried in a special

In 1981 a book which gathered everything that was known about Scythian archers at that time was published: Е. В. Черненко

Скифские лучники. — К., 1981. (Ye.V. Chernenko Scythian archers).

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A Scythian bow and arrows. Reconstruction. The Central Museum of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Section 17. The production of weapons of the Scythian time Hellenes with a Scythian bow. An image on an antique vase of the 5th century BC

Points of arrows with wooden insertions and the reconstruction of the whole arrow

case-gorytos which was usually made of leather. It could be decorated with golden straps of separate plates or even set in gold completely. Such a gorytos was decorated with complete scenes including from the lives of heroes; the most popular scenes were the ones with the participation of the legendary Achilles. According to the rank, a king was supposed to have such a gorytos that’s why they didn’t find many of them.

The remains of arrows which were found in a gorytos with golden facing in a burial place of the Melitopol burial mound (the 4th century BC). The picture is taken during excitations in 1954

A Scythian arrow, just like a bow, is not a simple product. Often a bronze, cast point is called “an arrow”, but it is only a part, a detail (even if it is rather important) of a deadly weapon. In order to deliver such a point to the target, there must be a shaft. For a small Scythian bow the length of an arrow is small, only 40 or 43 cm. In order to make them, they used reed and also wood – birch, pine and fir. The remains of such products were found in burial places, thanks to which we know about a cut for the bow string, the existence of double or triple feathering. The shaft was painted and colored marks were made on its different parts. Basing on the marks (the combination of the strips of black and red paints, the colors of the shaft) an expert could easily determine to which clantribe the archer belonged. Two ways of fastening a bronze point to the shaft are known. It’s worth noting that all points had a bush that’s why they could be mounted directly on the shaft when it was made of wood. But you couldn’t mount a bush on a reed stem with a small diameter. You will need a wooden adapter; they were also found. Besides, a reed shaft required the insertion of a more solid material (wood or bone) from the side where it was put on the bow string. It required a lot of work, but they got ideally straight arrows. And it was much easier to cut off an appropriate reed stem (which was also ideally straight) than to work wood. By the way, the design of an arrow with “a detaching warhead” in combination with thorns on points (and there could be from one to three of them) made it difficult to remote it from a wound. The reed shaft remained in the hands of the person who was removing the arrow and the point with the adapter stayed in the wound. You can’t leave it in the wound because there will be inflammation for sure. Besides the fact that there was a foreign

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A bone with a stuck point of a Scythian arrow Two-bladed bronze points of arrows. The 6th century BC

object there, the copper oxide wasn’t very healthy either. Moreover, the deadly force was so strong that a bronze point went into a bone and got stuck there forever. There are also similar finds in ancient burial places. Even if an arrow didn’t go into a bone, it pierced everything on its way with two or even three edges. Scythians knew how to sharpen weapons well, by the way, not only swords, but also arrows. On many points you can clearly see the traces of sharpening with the use of a small abrasive. Besides, on points there are sometimes different marks, scratches or even cast signs. Scientists are arguing about what it is: the owner’s mark, magic marks which, in the opinion of the owner, improved the properties of the weapon? There is nothing to argue about here: in the opinion of a real Scythian, the weapon must be effective and always ready for the battle for all 100%. And in this matter all the measures are good: it would be good to sharpen arrows a little more and battle magic shouldn’t be forgotten either. It is clear now why in ancient times nobody wanted to come under fire of Scythian (and not only Scythian) archers. Everybody could clearly imagine the possible results of the use of the main weapon of Scythians. A skillful archer can shoot up to ten or twelve arrows in one minute. When the first one reached its target, a few more deadly arrows were already on their way. In quivers which are found among funeral gifts of Scythian warriors there are from a few dozen to a hundred of arrows. So, with such ammunition a warrior could “produce fire” for the whole 10 or 15 minutes. Perhaps in those ancient times there weren’t many armies which could hold out against such fire for long. Even if this shooting was not very aimed, with a compact formation of the enemy, even if they were covered with shields and/or partially with protective armor, most arrows managed to hit them. The same can be said

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about the cavalry if it tried to attack such archers. If a horseman is protected with armor in some way and covered with a shield, one or a few arrows will definitely hit his horse.

The eternal fight of weapons and armor You can as well understand Scythians who spent so much time and effort on creating and acquiring reliable protective armor. And then on developing means in order to deprive their enemy of reliable protection (for example, a shield) for sure or to defeat them as successfully as possible. Bronze points of Scythian arrows are rather diverse. Their form changed, but their diversity was also connected with their purpose in a way. When in these days researchers-reconstructors conducted “field tests” of arrows with different points, they found out that, for example, two-bladed arrows were meant for piercing protective armor made of thick felt. And three-edged arrows are better suited for piercing armor which is covered with metal plates. Gradually Scythians refused such a diversity of arrows, having left only “armor-piercing” points in their arsenal. There may be a few reasons for that: either all potential enemies acquired armor reinforced with iron or some of the commanders decided to simplify the control of archers. Since in the heat of a fight you didn’t have time to check the arrow with which point you are taking out of the gorytos. In Scythian graves they found quite a lot of points of darts, a throwing weapon, which is smaller than a spear in terms of length. As a rule, a dart has a smaller point than a spear, some like a reduced copy of a spear. However, even though a Scythian dart really has a small point, it has a much longer bush. That’s why the weight of this product is not less than the one of a spear. If you add binding and a metal cone-shaped tube at the oppo-

Section 17. The production of weapons of the Scythian time Darts, a weapon for striking heavy armor and shields of the enemy. The 5th–the 4th century BC

site end of the shaft, then you will get a rather heavy battle projectile which from a distance of ten meters can as well pierce armor which is inaccessible for an arrowhead. Moreover, from a distance of 20 or 30 meters a dart can be thrust into a shield of an enemy; it may not pierce it, but will get stuck there for sure. In this case you can’t cut the shaft with a blow of an akinake; you still have to reach for it because a dart has a much longer iron bush. All this design resembles the famous Roman pilum, the weapon of legionaries. In both cases the first battle task is to deprive an enemy of his shield, of protection from arrows, darts, spears and the second task is to strike “the armored target” successfully. As a rule, a horseman had two such darts. It is understood why Scythians had a new round of armoring: they started covering shields with metal (bronze, iron) plates. However, animal skin taken in a certain place and treated in a proper way and then pulled on a shield can bear the blow of not only a dart, but also of a

Points of spears from burial places of Scythian warriors. The 5th century BC

bullet. Nonetheless, in any case the shield will not reduce the force of the blow. So, a well thrown dart can as well bring a hostile horseman down from the horseback. Since he had no additional support, either a saddle or stirrups because they hadn’t been invented yet. By the way, Scythians decorated their shields with the images of animals (deer, panther) and … fish. Something like a predecessor of medieval coats of arms. There were gold plates – they decorated the shields of kings and the elite, there were bronze and gilded bronze ones which were intended for ordinary warriors. Probably some symbols were applied on shields of leather and wood (such shields are also known) with paint. It was vitally important in a battle in order to know which warriors were on your side and which warriors were not, especially if this battle was between Scythians from different tribes or clans. The most important and the most powerful means of the fight with armored targets was a spear. At first its iron point was flat and more suited for cutting blows than for piercing armor. However, then narrow and massive, long points which were rhomboid in section appeared. A ram blow of such a spear could be fatal even for the warrior who was protected with scaly

A bronze plate in the form of fish which decorated a shield and metal plates which were fastened to its surface with the help of bronze cramps. The 4th century BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes sive, triangular blade were especially effective in a hand-to-hand fight. Nobody checked if this dagger could pierce protective armor, but this armor didn’t protect the whole warrior, his throat remained open.

The “friend akinake” A short sword-akinake together with a bow with arrows is probably the most popular participant of battle scenes which are portrayed on Scythian gold and glorified Battle axes, a together with their companions in expedition songs6. popular weapon of the Scythian More than 300 swords of the Scythian time have been cavalry found for the whole period of excavation. The most ancient swords are cast in bronze, but they were already used together with iron ones which sometimes resembled their predecessors in terms of the form of the blade and the hilt. The present look of most of daggers of the Scythian time arouses sadness armor. If you take into account the rather than delight. But it’s worth rememfact that the known finds of spears bering that about 2500 years have passed (which were carefully put in burial places) had since the moment they were made and they a shaft with the length of up to 3.5 m, then it haven’t been in a perfect preserved conbecomes clear that they were not used for dition for all this time. If such a product throwing at the target. appears in favorable conditions, for Another type of a Scythian weapon, an example, in a peat bog, then it will suraxe, was also successfully used for breaking vive to this day with a relatively descent armor. A battle axe is a rather heavy thing look. Such finds, for instance, are repreand if it has a rather long helve, then you can sented at the exposition of the Central not only hit infantrymen from a saddle, but Museum of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also horsemen. A relatively narrow and well in Kyiv. sharpened blade could as well break armor and How could swords appear in a a blow with an axe butt to the helmet could bog? The thing is that once in Europe either kill or at least stun the enemy. Axe butts there was a custom to “bury” weapons on which thorns were forged, sometimes up to (and other precious things) in basins, four of them, are known. The design resembles sacrificing them. This sword could be modern hammers for beating meat, the only taken back from such a lake (which, as difference is that on a kitchen hammer there are a rule, was looked after by a diva-priestmore teeth and they are smaller than the ones ess) mainly for a good cause. Britain was on a battle specimen. lucky with the sword called Excalibur There are finds of battle hammers, but once this way7. they are good mainly against hammers. Another effective weapon against the enemy in The standard length of a Scythian armor is a mace which for some reason was not sword is 50 or 60 cm (which is much less popular in Scythia. There are only a few finds of than the swords of the Middle Ages). maces, but even they were taken from Asia as Everything that is smaller is called daggers. battle spoils. Longer products which reach one meter are The last means of the fight with a knight in also known. This sword can already be used to the Middle Ages was a dagger. Scythians also cut from the horse and all the others are more Scythian swords had such a weapon. Short swords with a massuited for hand-to-hand fights. 6

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There are such words in an expedition song which is performed for a Scythian-warrior from Dnieper area steppes: “… my friend, akinake, arrows, bow in a quiver…” Some of the details from the life of the sword and his owner are given in the section “The path of the dragon or Sarmatians in Britain”.

Section 17. The production of weapons of the Scythian time

Swords of the Scythian time in a good condition which were probably found in a peat bog. The collection of the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

In terms of the form, the way of carrying and decoration, Scythian short swords are very similar to the products from Asia where warriors of the steppe took part in a lot of wars for more than half a century. Perhaps such similar swords were found the most. You can use such a sword to cut and to stab, but the latter is much faster and much more effective in order to knock out the enemy of action. They made a sheath for a sword. They tried to decorate it if not completely, then at least the top. The end and the top of sheaths were usually made of bronze. Very often these products are made in the form of a head of a bird of prey. This tradition and symbols took root in Europe. In the times of Rus the sheaths of swords and sabers we also decorated with stylized images of a birdraven. Sometimes they fastened carved (in the famous animal style) plates of bone to the surface of sheaths of akinakes, made pendants on skins; you can see all this among the images on Scythian gold. Noble people could afford sheaths decorated with painted gold. A plate with the length of up to 50 cm was quite enough to place complete scenes with the participation of fictional winged predators and other both peaceful and aggressive animals. Even battle scenes could be portrayed there.

In the 4th century BC single-edged swords become popular; about a dozen of them have already been found. In terms of the form they vaguely resemble yataghans. There are specimens with hilts covered with gold. Such weapons are even found in female burial places. At this time quite a lot of neighbors of Scythians – Hellenes, Macedonians and Thracians went to fight with single-edged swords. These products differed only in the form of the blade and the hilt. We have already mentioned Scythians’ love of the images of battle scenes. We would like to point out that most often they fight with their relatives. At first sight they have the same weapons and the same clothes. True, in some scenes there are young and old Scythians. There is an opinion that this is an illustration of the scene about the return of Scythians to Asia after the 28 year campaign. They, the old, fight with the descendants of A single-edged sword from a burial place of a Scythian female warrior. The 4th century BC

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A fight on swords between the old and young Scythians. An image on a golden helmet

their wives and slaves who were locals. Indeed, they portrayed a cruel fight, a fight to death. However, some single battles of a smaller scale resemble horse tournaments in the Middle Ages. If these are really single battles, then they were hardly held according to the rules of the knightly epoch. For example, a tradition of holding ritual competitions with weapons among warriors-Stepoviks is known. And these competitions were held for different reasons and under different circumstances, especially when celebrating New Year. As

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ancient people thought that it was at that moment that the forces of order were fighting with the forces of chaos in the world which ordinary mortal people couldn’t see. The duty of a man is to fight on the side of the forces of order. His prize would consist of not only the renewed world, but also of glory, wealth and prestige. However, feats of the heroes of the past ages could also be among the images of battles. Since Scythians had a chance to gain Eternal Glory in quite real battles than in competitions in honor of New Year holidays.

Section 18

Barbarians and Hellenes tarting with the 7th century BC, Scythians and Cimmerians became a part of the life and the legends of Hellenes. They entered their life as restless neighbors, attackers on villages and towns, trade partners the business with whom brings massive profit. Numerous images of Scythian archers can be seen on vases. Already till the end of the 6th century BC ethnicons of neighbors – “Scyth” and “Cimmer” were included into the list of names which Hellenes received at birth from Sicily to Athens. The glorious name “Scyth” was borne by the ruler of the city Zankli on the island Sicily and by a famous painter – a vase painter who painted scenes from Hellene myths. It happened that Scyth painted Scythians. The famous artist made an inscription on his works: “painted by Scyth”. Having established colonies on the northern shores of the Euxeinos Pontus, Hellenes became not only the nearest neighbors of Scythians, but also part of the history of the Land for one and a half thousand odd years. Olvia (or Olbia), Chersonesos, the Bosporan Kingdom are the biggest political and economic centers which always participated in historical events of that epoch. Thanks to archeological excavations we know now that the number of antique towns, small villages and fortified farmsteads in Northern Pontic area amounted to many hundreds and scarce messages of antique authors about the distant barbarian lands were realized to a certain extent.

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The military-depredatory economy The residents of the steppes required craftsmen’s products including weapons, vessels and adornments. Wine became the necessary attribute; courageous warriors managed to get acquainted with it during Eastern campaigns. And if they could organize the production of armor, swords, spears, arrows and molded vessels themselves and sometimes they could drink beer instead of wine, but they clearly couldn’t grow grapes and tread grapes (in any case, they would hardly do it). Besides, Scythian kings and not only kings were well aware that not far from them there were towns and countries where craftsmen could make wonderful things and there was plenty of wine. All these useful and nice goods could be acquired as they say now with delivery at door. But they had to pay for this.

The gold captured in the East couldn’t last forever and most of it was used (from the point of view of the present day) not in an economical way: it was put into graves as funeral gifts. What could Scythia offer the surrounding world besides the services of mercenaries? Roughly molded pots, sheep and horses? Pots and cups made by local craftsmen could adorn only the collection of the amateur of “barbarian” ethnography and the delivery of cattle to distant places didn’t look profitable.

Antique cities and Scythia. Legend: 1 — Hellene cities; 2 — ancient settlements of Scythians

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Amphorae and specimens of marks which guaranteed the volume indicated on a vessel. These are the vessels in which Hellenes sold wine to Scythians

For quite a lot of time they wrote about the deliveries of bread from Scythia (to be more exact from the Forest-steppe), however now almost nobody supports this point of view any more. First it turned out that cereals which had been grown by the neighbors of Scythians in the Forest-steppe could hardly be adequate exported goods at that time. Only now well-educated Europe falls for “healthy food”, i.e. glumaceous wheat, but in the antique epoch Hellenes preferred “real” bread. And the delivery of grain from distant Podillya, the Kyiv region and the Poltava region, The items of the antique import from Scythian burial mounds: a mirror and a scoop for wine which was used for taking wine out of an amphora

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many hundreds of kilometers from the shore, clearly didn’t look very profitable then. In ancient times the most profitable, transportable and that’s why the most expensive “goods” were people, slaves. The main and probably the monopolistic providers of the “live goods” from North Pontic area were, of course, Scythians and before them Cimmerians. In order to capture slaves, they carried out raids on grain growing tribes of the Forest-steppe and sometimes lasting raids over the Carpathian passes, behind the Dniester and the Danube. We can say that “the employment” of countrymen and the nearest neighbors abroad was probably the most profitable business of steppe clans. It’s worth noting that we are speaking about “forced employment”. In those ancient times the economies of many developed states both in Europe and in the East (just like now) couldn’t do without slave labor. Besides, in those times not only military units, but also the units of guards often consisted of Scythians. For instance, Athenian residents didn’t consider the work connected with maintaining law and order very prestigious that’s why the order in the cradle of the European democracy was maintained with the help of warriors from distant

Section 18. Barbarians and Hellenes (or even afford gold parts), to say nothing about weapons and vessels. Even traditional wooden cups were covered with thin gold plates. Fur and leather clothes became popular and even footwear was sewed with various gold pendants. It was no longer necessary to bring all this luxury from overseas, you could order it somewhere in the Bosporan Kingdom, in Olvia or Chersonesos. Hellenes paid for goods in gold, silver, but the same payment was returned to them. The resale of the live goods somewhere in Athens or in Miletus brought good lucre. This is how an economy which can hardly be called other than military-depredatory appeared and flourished for a few centuries. But a system like that can’t be eternal. Cruel raids which made the lands abandoned and also sometimes the resistance of the neighbors inevitably approached the decay, the collapse of the barbarian “economic system”. The most important link in this system was Hellene colonies in Northern Pontic area.

The colony called Olvia

Scythians and Hellenes at a marketplace in Transdniestria. Reconstruction

Scythia. Their excellent battle qualities were highly valued not only in Hellas. Profits received from such “goods exchange” could be directed by Scythians not only on consuming, but also on investing in increasing the military potential. Producing and buying weapons and armor on a byorder basis could be churned out now. Not only kings and military commanders, but also many warriors could afford to cover parts of a horse harness with gold

In the 20th century the words “colony”, “colonialism” was considered to be something shameful-imperialistic, in other words, not quite decent. That’s why the expression “Hellene colonies in Northern Pontic area” may sound in the same negative meaning for people, especially for those who are not very familiar with ancient history. It’s worth noting that ancient Hellas (some of its present-day part is now called “Greece”), as a rule, didn’t capture overseas territories with the help of force twenty seven centuries ago. And there was no such single country with this name either. In the world arena Hellas was represented by big and small cities-states (poleis) which sometimes entered into alliance, but more often fell under power of some mightier neighbor, for example, Persia. Besides, in those ancient times there were still enough lands for everybody. Moreover, Hellenes were often con-

A temple and a port in a Hellene city. The dummy is made basing on the materials of archeological excavations

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Olvia and its suburbs. Legend: 1 – antique settlements, rural and craftsman’s ones

tented with territories which nobody liked except them. One of the first colonies was established, according to the findings of excavations, on the island Berezan which is situated in the Dnieper-Bug estuary. Although, in those times, perhaps Berezan wasn’t an island yet because the level of the sea was lower by a few meters. The resi-

dents of the local village not only traded, but also grew bread, pastured cattle. Hellenes came to the distant island from Ionia – this is how part of the Anatolia peninsula was called at that time. There were quite a lot of major and wealthy cities here the population of which couldn’t get enough food with the help of agriculture or trade any more because they were squeezed by competition and the tax legislation of local kingdoms. While the rulers of big and small kingdoms, having invited Scythians and Cimmerians to assist them, were dividing the fortune of Assyria and were organizing new empires, the residents of poleis of Asia Minor and other poleis established one colony after another, penetrating to the West, the East and the North. In the latter case, they didn’t have serious competitors. The future colonists might as well get acquainted with Scythians as far back as Asia and find out a lot of new information about the country behind the sea, and somebody could get special guarantees of a chief and even a personal invitation. It was noticed a long time ago that the appearance of antique colonies in Northern Pontic region coincides with the appearance of the representatives of the Land in the East in a strange way. Later the number of settlements in the area of the Bug estuary reaches a conAntique painted vessels which were found in Northern Pontic area

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Section 18. Barbarians and Hellenes A Hellene warrior with a spear and a rounded shield. An image on a vessel

Bronze bracelets and points of arrows. The 4th century BC

siderable amount. More than one hundred of them are known to archeologists now and nobody knows how many of them went under the water or hasn’t been found yet. It is not known how Hellenes called them, but now they are indicated on archeological maps under the modern names: Shyroka Balka, Chortuvate (with ordinal numbers from 1 to 7) and so on. These settlements didn’t look very monumental. Archeologists excavated quite a lot of foundation pits of dugouts and also the remains of stone foundations. The walls were made of adobe blocks. The flat roof was covered with divot, ground and when they got rich they started using massive ceramic tiles. The settlements were of different sizes – very small ones of about twenty hundred square meters and huge ones of up to 50 or 80 hectares which in terms of sizes might as well be claimed to be towns; the only thing is that there were no temples, walls and other fortifications there. The creation of the network of settlements not only extended the cultivated lands, but also made it possible to use the local mineral and natural resources to the fullest extent. The residents of settlements in Yahorlyk organized the production of glass, bronze products, thanks to the forest in Hylea there was enough firewood then. The hazardous industries were taken beyond the boundaries of permanent settlements. At first the set for the trade with aboriginals included things which were easy to produce, but were rather fast-moving goods: glass necklaces, points of arrows, metal adornments. They

used ships to bring wine, painted and metal vessels, mirrors and a lot of other goods which were sometimes sold far in the North to the residents of the towns of the Forest-steppe. Hellenes developed the peninsula which is now limited to Berezan and Bug estuaries and also the shore. Their free life ended about one hundred or one hundred and fifty years later when most residents were concentrated in one place, having created a real city in the end. Its name Olvia (“Lucky”) is still rather widely known in the Land; though as far back as two hundred years ago scientists argued where exactly the city mentioned by antique authors many times was situated. Its streets and squares were rescued from obscurity thanks to archeologists and now anyone who wishes it can see the ruins of the ancient antique city in the outskirts of the village of Parutine. It is thought that the rural area was first neglected by Hellenes not because of an increase of a threat from steppe neighbors, but because it was the time for the conglomerate of rural villages which got rich on trade, craft, in other words, on big and small business to turn into a city. A community, a polis, was formed and it had enough money and other resources to finally build stone fortress walls, to erect temples and other social buildings which were worthy of the city.

The building of farmsteads in an antique city in Pontic area. The dummy is made basing on the materials of archeological excavations

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Small coins – bronze “arrows” and “dolphins” Coins of Olvia

True, they had to save on walls – in some parts they were made of adobe blocks. But at least in the most important parts you could see even layers of stonework. Walls and towers with merlons were supposed to look threatening and beautiful both from the field and from the estuary. Two massive towers flanked the main gate. Olviapolits decided not to waste time on making a ditch around the city; perhaps they considered the walls a sufficient obstacle against probable raids of the Scythian cavalry. At first the city was developed not in a very luxurious way: in temples they sometimes had to replace parts of marble with terra-cotta facing. However, later Olvia got rich and when there is gold, you will have marble as well. They made streets in the city which divided the territory into numerous farmsteads of different sizes. They were built in accordance with the fortune and the tastes of their owners. Even a water supply system was arranged with the help of ceramic pipes, but roofs covered with tiles became a standard practice only from the 4th century BC. Every farmstead had an underground cistern for collecting water which flew down from the roof. Just like any state which respects itself, Olvia started minting its own coins. At first these were small ingots of copper in the form of a dolphin. They also had ingots which resemble points of arrows – “coins-arrows” in their circulation. As a rule, such small change was in circulation solely within the boundaries of the polis, you could use it to pay for food at the market or for drinks and meals at an eating-house. They used silver and even gold coins for more important transactions, especially beyond the boundaries of the polis.

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Olvia tried to live in peace with Scythians because it could rely only on good neighborly relations, but not on the strength or a big number and courage of citizens. Sometimes it had to admit the protectorate of Scythian rulers, but in the event of serious danger, the support of the rulers of the Steppe could be indispensable1.

On the shores of Taurica Such a blessed place as the Crimea was inhabited by Hellenes especially densely. Its mountains and valleys were more similar to the homeland of Hellenes than the steppe plains behind the outskirts of Olvia. Two most important centers of ancient Taurica were Chersonesos and Panticapaeum, at first an ordinary colony and then the capital of the Bosporan Kingdom. Ancient Chersonesos Taurica which is now squeezed between the sea and the outskirts of extending Sevastopol left not only impressive ruins, but also the remains of borders of allotments which were once provided to the citizens of the polis when dividing the adjoining Crimean land more than twenty five centuries ago. This city is a record holder-long-liver among antique settlements of the peninsula which lived till the 14th century, having existed almost a millennium. The city also existed for so long because Chersonesits were obstinate, courageous people who were mostly loyal till the end to their oath the solemn words of which are preserved on a marble stele. Generation after generation, they swore the Sun and the Sky, the Olympic Gods and Goddesses that they would not yield their home town to “either a Hellene or a barbarian”. The protection of the city with weapons in their hands was a matter of honor for Chersonesits. The city voluntary military

Sometimes this support determined the future destiny of the city to a considerable extent. You can find more details about it in the sections: “The campaign of Zopyrion” and “The “Scythian trace” in the victory of Olviapolits”.

Section 18. Barbarians and Hellenes

Antique centers and towns of the Crimea

forces repulsed the attacks of both Scythians and Hellenes who had settled down in the Eastern Crimea more than once. Gravestones of warriors-Chersonesits on which there are images of their weapons and armor have survived to this day. Now the suburbs of the city attack the outskirts of Chersonesos and only on satellite pictures you can see quite clearly the stone walls which divided the fields which were the nearest to the city into allotments of the rectangular form. It’s worth noting that it is practically impossible to see such a picture in A gravestone of a citizen-warrior with an image of weapons and armor. Taurica Chersonesos The boundaries of Chersonesos clers – allotments of the citizens of the city can still be seen thanks to stone fences even in space pictures. You can also see the attack of the suburbs of the modern city Sevastopol on them

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Coins of antique cities of the Crimea and the Bosporan Kingdom

Archeological excavations in Chersonesos, the first half of the 20th century

modern Europe. Now the farmsteads of the residents of the city which were built nearer to their lands have been excavated. Unlike summer cottages of six hundred square meters of the Soviet epoch, the possession of such an allotment was an undeniable right (and a sign) of the citizen of the glorious polis. A respected owner grew grapes and wheat that’s why he could as well feed his family and offer quite a lot of things for sale. Vines were planted near low walls made of stones which were gathered in the same field. This stonework not only protected from cold or dry winds, but also created a shade, when it was necessary it accumulated heat and humidity directly from the air. It is now that they can’t do without watering here, the city suffers from the lack of water. A coin of Chersonesos

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And Chersonesits could get water even from the air. The colonists had no problems with selling wine: Scythians and their Northern neighbors could drink not only all the wine which was made in Taurica or in the outskirts of Olvia, but also consume in large quantity «overseas” drinks which were poured in amphorae in Chios, Lesbos, Samos and in other places of Hellas. At first a few groups of Hellenes came to the shores of the Bosporus and each of them established their own polis with all the attributes of statehood including minting coins which were not only bronze for the internal use, but also silver and in the event of special flourishing even gold. Towns grew rich, fortress walls and temples were built. Archeological expeditions which came to the sunny Crimea from Kyiv, Saint-Petersburg, Moscow and Kharkiv and also from other distant places worked hard to find out a lot of details about the history of ancient cities which were not indicated in the pages of works of antique authors. Some time later the wealthiest and the most powerful center, Panticapaeum, united them under their supremacy. At first the supreme ruler didn’t encroach on the democratic tradition and called himself “the Archon of the Bosporus and Feodosiya”, but then everything received its real names: a ruling dynasty started dominating on the Bosporus. At first freedom-loving Hellenes were obstinate, but soon they understood all the advantages which the powerful authority could bring: first of all stability and peace, finally protection from neighbors-barbarians who were always ready under certain circumstances to pass from mutually beneficial trade to robbery. Soon the new union went beyond the boundaries of the Kerch peninsula and started giving law to even some of their neighbors-barbarians including the ones on the opposite shore of the Cimmerian Bosporus. Barbarians were also willing to serve (for an appropriate fee) the rulers of the Bosporus. Then the turn of Chersonesos came; it had to apply massive effort to defend its inde-

Section 18. Barbarians and Hellenes

A Bosporus gold coin – stater

land of Ecumene, not far from the entrance to Aida. This is how the peculiarity of the local “Cimmerian” toponymy is explained; it reflects the interpretation by the residents of the Bosporus of their place in the world of the alive and in the world of the dead. The main achievement of the Crimean Hellene economy was the fact that the peninsula, to be more exact its part, the areas developed by practical settlers, really became a granary (to be more precise one of a few ones) for the whole antique world. If in ancient times

Archeological excavations in Panticapaeum, the 1950s of the 20th century

pendence. As a result, the all-Crimean kingdom under the supremacy of the Bosporus was never created and the rivals soon appeared under the protectorate of more powerful neighbors. The resident of the Bosporus acquired special mastery in making jewelry masterpieces for the fabulously rich Scythian elite. We can claim that not a single ruler of Scythia in the 5th–the 4th century BC who respected himself could do without their products. Such masterpieces as the pectorale, the comb from the burial mound Solokha, numerous gold and silver vessels, refined adornments are connected with the Bosporus. The production of gold gorytos which are found in burial places of kings were serial. It is not known how many products were made with the use of one matrix, but some of such things, for example, were found in 2 or 4 copies. Of course, if we are speaking about pendants, they made thousand of them. The wealthy Bosporus even started minting gold staters. These coins were so perfect that the Scythian elite even ordered rings in which these beautiful products of Bosporus craftsmen were used as shields. On one side of the coin there is an image of a personage who unites (according to modern scientists) the images of Dionysus and Apollo of the Belvedere. It is thought that this symbol reflected the views connected with the Crimea of Hellenes who having settled down on its Eastern shore thought that they were somewhere in the

Archeological excavations of the antique city Nymphaion, the 1950s of the 20th century

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The remains of farmsteads and a temple building in Nymphaion, excavations in the 1950s of the 20th century

Archeological excavations of an antique city on the Bosporus, the 1950s of the 20th century

bread was exported from the territory of the Land to a considerable extent, then it could be done only from the Crimea. Only through the port in Feodosiya they sent about 86 thousand tons of grain to Athens. The Bosporus ruler, should an opportunity arise, could give Athens 540 tons of grain in the form of a decrease of customs dues (from the next batch of some 16,389 tons). It is not surprising that the residents of Athens built steles in honor of the Bosporus benefactors in the citadel of the Hellene democracy. However, even though the Bosporan Kingdom was situated at the world’s end, the status of one of the biggest exporters of bread immediately attracted the attention to it

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and to Taurica on the whole of those rulers of the ancient world who were used to disposing of the flows of goods at their discretion and to building the order in the world according to their views and needs. From that time not only embassies with requests about the aid with bread or convincing offers in the name of high ideals, but also squadrons of battle ships with experienced strategists and troops onboard came to the rocky shores. As a result, everything ended in a sad way: flourishing turned into decay. Then the next conquerors came and only ruins which now remind of the once beautiful Hellene city and the greatness of the ancient states are left after them.

A mark on antique tiles

Section 19

The battle for Scythia ncient rulers and the subjects of ancient kingdoms of Scythia and Macedonia left only glorious names and antiquities which are buried in mounds and among the ruins of the cities and nomads’ camps abandoned by them. But twenty three centuries ago these two states were known to everybody, both to the residents of Hellene poleis and to Persian satrapies of Asia. The rulers of two neighboring European kingdoms, Scythia and Macedonia, fostering far-reaching state plans, played a political game, equipped and led multi-thousand armies to distant campaigns. The destiny and the future of people and countries, the course of history was determined. It is sometimes thought that it is the clash with Macedonia, the death of the Scythian king Ateas in a battle that led to the decay of Great Scythia in the end. However, the question remains open whether such a state existed in the first place, a powerful kingdom from the Danube to the Don. Sometimes only fragments of inscriptions, coins and the remains of weapons which were found in the ground can be claimed to be more or less objective proofs of ancient events.

A

Forgotten wars at the edge of Ecumene In the fourth century BC Scythians were still at the zenith of power. The rulers of separate tribes at their own risk and peril tried to extend the spheres of influence and the borders of Scythia to the West, beyond the Danube. However, it turned out that their hopes connected with the effect of a destructive shower of arrows, the invincible might of the armored cavalry, to say nothing about the courage and bravery of steppe warriors, were not always justified.

At this time the star of small Macedonia kingdom is starting to rise in Europe. The father of Alexander the Great, Philip II, reorganized the Macedonian phalanx. Four or five ranks of warriors-hoplites were not a serious obstacle for a heavily armed cavalry including the Scythian one. However, sixteen or twenty ranks of infantrymen armed with long, sometimes with the length of 6 meters, spears and also quite securely covered from flanks with the cavalry appeared to be capable of not only withstanding an attack, but also of striking a crushing blow in response.

The confrontation of two kings

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A Thracian horseman. A silver plate with gilding, the middle of the 4th century BC, from a treasure which was found on the territory of present-day Bulgaria

A reason for trying their strength in a battle with Scythians appeared in 339 BC. Macedonians clashed this time not with all Scythia, but only with its westernmost representatives who settled down in the steppes of Lower Danube area. The ruler of those territories was Ateas. Not only Scythians-nomads, but also coastal cities-poleis were under his reign. One of them, Kallatis, even minted interesting silver coins – tetradrachms at its mint. On its obverse there was Hercules’s head, the common ancestor of Hellenes and Scythians. On its reverse, instead of a Greek horseman-Olympic champion there was an image of a bare to the waist bearded Scythian who was bending a bow and was ready to send his deadly arrow to the target. At that time quite a lot of neighbors of Scythians, under certain circumstances, could become a target for such an arrow. Steppe warriors gave trouble not only to Hellenes, but also to those people who lived both in the North and in the East. Later bellicosity did old Ateas an ill turn. In the surrounding lands there were no reliable allies who could come to the rescue in a hard time if not for nothing, then at least in time. It is thought that the conflict of the ruler of Scythians with Macedonians started when king Ateas was waging a war with Istrians A coin of king Ateas

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who were either a tribe that lived in the lower reaches of the Danube and the Dniester or the residents of the city Istria. The ruler of Scythians couldn’t cope with the insidious Istrians on his own that’s why he asked the king of Macedonians Philip II to help him. Ateas will, so to say, adopt Philip and the latter will inherit the kingdom and the power in due time. The offer looked extremely attractive and even not insulting. At that time Philip II was about forty and Ateas was more than twice as old. So, the ruler of Macedonia could as well be not only a son, but even a grandchild of the ruler of Scythians. Receiving the heritage of Ateas meant not only peaceful extension of the territories, securing the rear in Danube area, but also considerable strengthening of the army with numerous and well trained horse units. On the agenda of the Macedonian king there was a question connected with the final conquest of Hellas.The Scythian cavalry in the nearest future could appear to be a very useful and forcible argument in the dispute for the hegemony not only in the Balkans, but also in all Black sea area. It is reported that Philip II agreed and even sent some army to help Ateas. However, the ruler (or the commander of the voluntary military forces) of Istrians died so opportunely that the conflict was settled without the interference of Macedonians. And when the time came to pay his tick, Ateas claimed that “he hadn’t asked him [Philip] for help and hadn’t given instructions to tell him about the adoption because Scythians had no need for the Macedonian protection because they were superior to Macedonians [in terms of courage] and he [Ateas] didn’t need any successor because his son was safe and sound”. The ruler of

Section 19. The battle for Scythia

Coins of Philip II of Macedon

Scythians even refused to cover the military expenses of Philip II, having complained that the weather had been bad lately and they had a poor harvest and in the treasure there was so little money that “it would be indecent to give a miserable pittance as compared to giving nothing at all”.

Scythians appeared in Dobrudja soon after 357 BC when the Odrysian kingdom collapsed which had controlled these lands before. It is quite possible that this kingdom collapsed not without the help of Scythians. Thus, before the conflict with Macedonians Ateas had ruled in these lands for 17 or 18 years. In many domestic textbooks of history you can read that the wise Ateas was a powerful king of one and undivided Great Scythia, a huge steppe empire, a state that in the middle of the 4th century BC had its territories from the banks of the Don-the Tanais or the foothills of the Caucasus to the lower reaches of the Danube. The huge Kamianka ancient settlement on the Dnieper is called the capital of this superstate. True, it is inferior to the Belsk ancient settlement in terms of sizes, but all the same it was bigger than any antique city in Northern Black Sea area. Even the king’s burial place in the famous burial mound Chortomlyk is linked to the name Ateas. Among other arguments they refer to the inscription at the bottom of the silver cup which was found there – AATAA which is consider to be the name of the king. However, on the

Whose king was Ateas? The fact that Ateas was a king aroused no doubt among his contemporaries. In works which have survived to this day ancient Greeks and Romans called Ateas with titles which were clear for them — ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ, REX. These titles are translated, as a rule, in the same way as “king”. And only in one of the ancient works (however, which was written only a few hundred years later after the death of the king) it was written that Ateas ruled in the “Scythian kingdom”. Among his subjects warriors, grain growers and horse breeders were mentioned. We have a typical structure of a nomadic society in front of us: on top there is a ruler and his troops, then there are fellow countrymen who pasture cattle and at the bottom of the pyramid there are impoverished relatives without horses who passed on to grain growing.

An inscription on a coin of Ateas — ΑΤΑΙΑΣ

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes king’s coins we can see quite a different inscription – ΑΤΑΙΑΣ. And if we take into account that at the bottom of the mentioned above cup there are also other letters besides AATAA, then we cannot consider this inscription to be the name of the king unreservedly. They also point out that the name Ata (which, we must agree, is more similar to AATAA) was borne by the Goddess of oblivion. Indeed, her name looks more appropriate on a cup from the number of funeral gifts. According to the version of some historians and archeologists, the great king Ateas appeared behind the Danube, extending the boundaries of his empire to the West. It’s worth noting that in this case the Scythian king was supposed to have economic and which is more important, military resources which by many times exceeded what theoretically the king of Macedonia

might have at that time. It is thought that united Scythia till 340 BC could as well offer up to 130 thousand warriors. And the biggest army which had been gathered by Macedonian rulers in those times didn’t exceed 30,000 or 45,000 infantrymen and horsemen. Once two such armies had been gathered, but they acted separately. However, even if they were united, they would be inferior to the Scythian power. In this case, it is difficult to understand why Ateas, the king of Great Scythia, not only turned to Philip II for military help, but also promised to give him all his huge kingdom as a reward. Since we are speaking not about some global war, for example, with Persia, but with a polis, even if it was rather populous. It’s worth noting that now many historians argue that the point of view concerning Ateas as the king of the Scythian empire is based not on the statements of ancient authors and other facts, but on the desire of certain scientists (and politicians) to have in the past of their homeland some great, mighty and united state governed by a wise ruler. Thus, it is more likely that they write about Ateas as the ruler of one and undivided Great Scythia by the force of the tradition and not on the basis of some facts. A few facts, even though they are indirect, can be indicative of the real scales of the kingdom of Ateas. The first one is that Philip II of Macedon got 20,000 prisoners as a trophy; it’s worth noting that these were wives and children of Scythians and not men. Even if we consider this figure trustworthy (and ancient authors always had problems with numbers) and assume that Scythian families had one child, then maximum 10,000 warriors should equal the number of these prisoners. In reality, Scythian families hardly consisted of 2 or 3 persons. In other words, king Ateas could have not more than 3,000 or 5,000 warriors. Indeed, a more sensible view on the historical and archeological sources and which is more important, on the events of the past that took place twenty three centuries ago gives more evidence in favor of the ones who consider Ateas to be the king of only part of Scythians who roamed in Danube area. Since Strabo pointed out that Ateas who was at war with Philip ruled over “most local barbarians”. The local barbarians means the ones behind the Danube. Thus, he ruled over “the biggest part”, but not over all the Scythians. The second fact. It is significant that Macedonians got as a trophy, besides prisoners, all the carts and all horses and herds which belonged to Scythians. So, Ateas didn’t send them away from the battle zone before the battle. During the war with Darius his ancestors acted differently and evacuated the peaceful popuA noble Scythian warrior with all weapons. Reconstruction from the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

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Section 19. The battle for Scythia Peaceful Scythians. Modern reconstruction of the clothes and weapons

very beginning. If only he could foresee that first Macedonians and then Triballoi who had been defeated by him would get his treasures! lation and “the movable property” as far as possible. If the wise and provident Ateas didn’t take care of his relatives and subjects this way, then most likely he couldn’t evacuate them anywhere. Or he didn’t trust his neighbors that much in order to send the carts to their territory without any guard. It is not surprising because in a critical situation every warrior is important. In general, such behavior doesn’t look worthy for the ruler of the Scythian empire from the Danube and the Ister to the Tanais, from the Pontus to Neurid. But it is quite logical for a king-chief of a small Scythian union of tribes in Dobrudja who was surrounded from all sides with enemies who had been successfully acquired for his long, but not sinless life. Since having appeared after 357 BC behind the Danube, king Ateas managed to wage war not only with Istrians, but also with the Thracian tribe Triballoi. And in order to gain victory over the latter, he had to resort to cunning. He ordered to drive herds of cattle to the place of the battle and put part of the peaceful population in the saddle. The enemy thought that the horsemen which were approaching in the cloud of dust were a reserve and ran away from the battlefield. So, aggressive ambitions of Ateas clearly exceeded his military capabilities for the

The battle for Dobrudja So, Macedonians received quite a decent reason for declaring war to their yesterday’s allies. At this moment Philip II was conducting a siege of the city Byzantium (the very city that 700 years later would become Constantinople and the capital of the Roman Empire), i.e. had a numerous army. He immediately raised the siege and went to visit Ateas with all his troops.

A bronze helmet and parts of a long spear-sarissa – the weapon of the warriors of the famous phalanx. The 4th century BC. Next to them there are modern reconstructions of ancient weapons

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Of course, Philip II believed in wonders, but not to such an extent. Good judgment is characteristic of his actions. Probably he knew that there wouldn’t be so many Scythians. They also write about a war ruse. Most likely this ruse was connected with the purpose to provoke a frontal attack of Scythians on the phalanx which was clearly doomed. An attack which would inevitably die out because of six meter spears in a close order of the monolithic twenty ranks of hoplites. And then the Macedonian cavalry would be able to attack on the flank, to surround and to finish off the A gold coin of Philip II of Macedon – Philip in the similitude of Hercules enemy who would be stuck in a hand-to-hand fight and half dismounted and only a fresh reserve would be able to save them. Anticipating the question of “the receiving party” concerning the unexpected guests, Macedonians sent a messenger with a message that actually he was not going on a visit to Ateas, but directly to the mouth of the Ister (the Dniester). He was going not with the purpose of war, but with the most devout purpose: to built a copper statue of Hercules there in accordance with his promise. If we have a look at the map, we can easily see: in order to get to the Ister, Philip II had to cross (with all his army) the territories of Ateas in Dobrudja. Naturally, the king of Scythians started not only to object, but also to threaten Macedonians. At first he offered to erect the statue to the common ancestor together and when he received a refusal, he threatened to melt the statue into points of arrows if it was erected without his participation. Nobody wanted to yield that’s why a war started soon. The Macedonian phalanx and the armor-clad cavalry of Scythians clashed in a decisive battle. Scythians suffered a defeat, their king died in the battle. The outcome of the battle confirms the conclusions about the fact that not all the military forces of Great Scythia took part in it. Ateas with his army and in reality, with all his people appeared in a desperate position – he just had nowhere to retreat! If he were really the king of Great Scythia from the Don to the Danube, such a problem wouldn’t have appeared. And Philip II would have a chance to repeat the Scythian campaign of Darius I most likely with the same results. If we take into account that the ratio of the cavalry and the infantry in the Scythian army was about 2:1 and the united forces of Scythians are estimated by historians as 130,000 warriors, then an 80,000 horse army of Scythians had all the chances to successfully fight with the Macedonian phalanx, moreover, with the support of 50,000 infantrymen. In its palmy days Macedonia managed to offer only 40,000 infantrymen and 5,000 cavalrymen against Persia. A phalanx. Sequences from the feature film “Alexander”

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Section 19. The battle for Scythia arrows, the Scythian cavalry might as well count on a successful attack and even on a victory. However, even sacrificial courage of the old king who probably rushed with his few guards to help the surrounded warriors didn’t manage to change the course of the battle. The battle for the subjects of Ateas ended in a bad way. The Roman historian Pompeius Trogus informed in his work that “…although Scythians exceeded [Macedonians] in terms of number and courage, but they were defeated by the cunning of Philip. Twenty thousand women and children were taken prisoner and plenty of cattle were captured. Twenty thousand best mares for breeding horses [of the Scythian breed] were sent to Macedonia”. The ancient authors didn’t mention either gold or silver among the trophies of Macedonians. Evidently, few subjects of Ateas really appeared to be poor. If the victors got some yellow metal, then it could be only the metal which decorated the weapons of warriors and the harness of horses and which was taken from the warriors that had died in the battle.

A short triumph of Philip

Scythian ammunition – bronze points of arrows

If Ateas had acted more reasonably, the battle could have ended in a different way. Scythians might as well not rush to a frontal attack on the phalanx bristled with sarissas and even not approach it. The shooting even from a few thousand bows from a distance of one hundred or two hundred meters wouldn’t leave the infantrymen even a chance for a hand-to-hand fight. Since in a quiver of every Scythian who respected himself there were dozens of arrows from which bronze armor (helmets, cuirasses and knemidas) that didn’t cover all the body couldn’t save even if the arrows were shot from such a distance. But only the warriors in a few front ranks of the phalanx had such armor. The last ranks would just be doomed to death in case of such shooting. Having thinned out the phalanx thoroughly this way and having caused disorder with the help of a shower of

In a single battle the Macedonian king won the whole campaign. Ateas was killed, the Scythian army stopped existing. More than 20,000 horses were captured and they could be useful in increasing the number of his cavalrymen. Of course, it didn’t compensate for the prospect of including the numerous and well trained Scythian cavalry into his army, but all the same that was a good result. There were also prisoners who had to be taken home as soon as possible or to be sold on his way home. It seemed that all the expenses and losses connected with the war were reimbursed to excess. However, the triumph of Philip II appeared to be short. Moreover, according to ancient authors, “the trophies captured in Scythia, as if they were cursed, almost led to the death of Macedonians”. On their way back the army of the Triballoi was waiting for the victors impatiently. Due to a sudden attack on the march formations of the Macedonian army-victor, it not only requisitioned the Scythian things which had been captured, but almost deprived the Macedonian king of his life. Most likely a curse had nothing to do with it (though it is not excluded), but probably some part of Scythians survived after the battle and turned to their neighbors for help in freeing their wives and children. Burdened with the spoils and thinned out in the battle, the troops of Macedonians which were retreating in the foreign territory didn’t manage to offer descent resistance. A bronze point of an arrow with the name of king Philip

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King Philip II of Macedon: reconstruction of anthropologists

However, Philip II survived despite the rumors about his death and which is more important, preserved his thrown. Probably one of the trophies of that war is the gold facing from a Scythian gorytos – a case for a bow. It was found in the tomb of Philip II which was excavated at the end of the 20th century in the North of Greece1. After short treatment the king started a much more important war for him (and for the future of Macedonia) against the cradle of the Hellene democracy – Athens. He managed to win it without the help of the Scythian cavalry. The Battle of Chaeronea, according to one antique historian, became the end of the glory and all ancient liberties for all Greece. So, if the glorious Ateas had won that fatal battle for Scythians in 339, he together with his subjects would have had a chance to go down in the world history not only as the savior of the Hellene democracies (and “ancient liber-

1

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A monument to Philip II of Macedon

ties”), but also of the Persian state of the Achaemenids and in addition part of the lands of distant India from the Macedonian conquest. Seven years passed after the clash of Philip II and Ateas. And again it came to a confrontation of Macedonia and Scythia. However, this time fortune didn’t smile on Macedonians any more. It’s worth noting that if the defeat of Ateas had really appeared to be a military catastrophe for all Great Scythia, the destiny of the latter would have been determined long before the movement of Sarmatian tribes to the Black sea area steppes.

The version that this tomb belonged to Philip II of Macedon has been disproved lately.

Section 20

The campaign of Zopyrion hich of the experts and amateurs of the Roman history doesn’t know the sad exclamation of Emperor Augustus: “Quinctilius Varus, bring back my legions!” In Germany they started celebrating the day glorious warriors of the tribe of the Cherusci destroyed entire three Roman legions in a forest which has become famous since then. The chief of freedom-loving and bellicose Germans – Arminius also went down in the world history; they put up a monument to him some time ago. And it is not surprising because this was a stunning victory over not somebody, but the legions of Great Rome! Meanwhile the history of our Land by some miracle preserved the name of the person who had a hand in the victory over the army which was twice as big of a similar great ruler and an invincible commander of ancient times – Alexander III of Macedon. And even though nobody in Ukraine in the lands of which this victory was gained celebrates it, the events of those distant times were not only mentioned by historians many times, but also were included into songs of archeological expeditions.

W

Macedonia against Borysthenites The event which will be dealt with below took place three centuries before the victory of the Cherusci over the Roman legions. It happened in distant 331 BC, more than twenty three centuries ago. The name of the Macedonian governor of Thrace, the commander was Zopyrion. By the way, he lost almost twice as many warriors in that campaign as Romans in the Teutoburg Forest – antique authors write about a thirty thousand(!) army. The person

who had a hand in the victory over Macedonians was an Olbiopolitai named Callinicus. The campaign of Zopyrion had its prehistory. Having buried king Philip killed by conspirators, his son, Alexander, in 335 BC made a campaign against Thrace, the Getae and the Triballoi who had recaptured the Scythian spoils before and almost killed his father as far back as four years ago. According to antique authors, this campaign was victorious and successful. It can mean that the settlements where Macedonian warriors came were

Northern-Western Black sea area of the times of the campaign of Zopyrion

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burnt and their residents who had been taken prisoner were sold into servitude. It’s worth noting that the young Macedonian king didn’t have a chance to meet Scythians in these lands. Having secured his rear in Europe with the help of this victorious campaign, Alexander in the spring of 334 BC started his famous campaign to the East. Who knows how it would have changed the course of the history of the Land if Alexander III of Macedon had tried to repeat the campaign of Darius I against Scythians in order to gain the rear of Darius III over the Caucasus. However, he went to conquer Persia using a shorter way which was clearer for Hellenes. At that time the king’s court which remained in Macedonia denied themselves nothing – either palace intrigues or military adventures which only undermined the prestige of Alexander. True, this time his rear appeared to be protected rather securely by antique historians who tried to hide from descendants the information about the defeats of not only Alexander himself, but also of the commanders of the invincible king. There are a few versions of ancient historians and even more versions which belong to modern historians about what happened in the Pontic steppes somewhere between the Hypanis – the Southern Bug and the Ister – the Danube in the spring, the burning summer and the cold autumn of 331 BC1. As far back as two millenniums ago antique authors differed in opinion concerning the fact exactly against whom this campaign was directed – either against the Persian empire and the “invincible” Scythians or against the poleis of Northern Black sea area as the last islands of the Hellene democracy. 1

The Roman Pompeius Trogus thought that Zopyrion had made a military campaign against Scythians, but had been annihilated together with all his army, having paid this way for “an ill-conceived beginning of the war with the innocent people”. Did Scythians really look in the eyes of Romans as “an innocent people”? However, another Roman author, Macrobius, speaks not about Scythians, but only about the fact that Zopyrion conducted a siege of “the city of Borysthenites”, i.e. Olvia. And in the works of modern historians who study these events from a distance of twenty three odd centuries you can meet different wordings: “the campaign of Zopyrion against Olvia”, “the campaign of Zopyrion against Scythians”, “the campaign of Zopyrion to Northern Black sea area», etc. So, if we summarize the data of ancient authors and the opinion of modern authors, then it turns out that both Scythians and Borysthenites, i.e. the residents of Olvia were involved in the conflict. Both of them thought (not without grounds) that Macedonia was waging war against them.

The greatness of the plans of Alexander Why would Alexander the Great need such a risky military operation? Or it didn’t look risky at all at that time? According to one of the versions, at first the king had a plan to make a campaign along the northern shore of the Euxeinos Pontus and an opposite campaign – as regards his own movement along the southern shore of the sea. The king from the South and his commander from the North were supposed to go victoriously around the Euxeinos Pontus. This way an empire of Alexander was supposed to be created. Olvia was supposed to be a springboard in the depth of the Scythian territories. Having at their disposal a big city and a port on the shore, Macedonians could plan and successfully realize further conquests. Grain gathered in Olvia’s suburbs could be used to feed quite a numerous army for a certain time and the meat ration could be replenished at the expense of the captured Scythian cattle. From the point of view of strategy and military planning, this plan is quite correct and promising. It is confirmed by the Pontic policy of Rome. Three centuries later Romans, having reached the shores of the Pontus, would start with the same thing. They would deploy garrisons in Black sea area towns and build new fortresses. The second stage, the campaign to Persia, was supposed to be completed with the return of Alexander with

The review of ancient authors and the works of modern historians connected with the campaign of Zopyrion and the related events and also the translation of the survived part of the decree in honor of Callinicus (and comments on it) can be read in the article by Yu.G. Vinogradov and P.O. Karyshkovsky (Виноградов Ю.Г., Карышковский П.О. Каллиник, сын Евксена.

Проблемы политической и социальноэкономической истории Ольвии второй половины IV в. до н.э. // Вестник Древней Истории, 1982. — № 4; 1983 — № 1 (Vinogradov Yu.G., Karyshkovsky P.O. Callinicus, son of Euxenus. The prob-

lems of the political and social-economic history of Olvia of the second half of the 4th century BC)).

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A great plan of Alexander. The red line indicates the campaign of his army, the yellow line indicates the campaign of the army of Zopyrion to Olvia and the dotted line indicates the probable further route

his army to the shores of the Pontus. And they intended to return there across the valley of the Tanais-the Don. Since the court geographers claimed that the sources of this river lay somewhere in the depth of the Persian territories. True, during the campaign to Asia they had to revise this geographical fiction to a great extent. Just like the views about the sizes of Ecumene and the peoples who inhabited it including the data concerning Scythians and their military power. Indeed, the plans of Alexander under the influence of events that took place were changed dartingly and unpredictably. Persia fell strikingly quickly. Two victorious battles (the Battle of the Granicus River and the Battle of Issus) caused a fatal wound to the Eastern empire. In the spring of 331 BC, after spending the winter in the delta of the Nile, a dangerous campaign with unpredictable consequences to the territory of Persia itself was supposed to begin. It’s worth noting that till this moment the parent polis of a lot of Pontic cities including Olvia, a glorious and beautiful Ionian city Miletus which had offered desperate resistance was captured by the invincible army of Alexander after the siege. Citizens and members of their families who had survived were sold into servitude. You can imagine what impression it produced on the Olbiopolitai and the residents of other (still) free Hellene poleis on the shores of the Pontus where Miletus had established quite a lot of its colonies for the past centuries! In any case, on the eve of the decisive campaign against Persia in the rear of Macedonians there remained free, but still not very loyal (fist of all, in Olvia) Hellenes

and also Scythians who were disposed in a hostile way to the newly minted contenders for the rulers of Ecumene. It would be quite logical to try to neutralize the possible alliance of the representatives of polis democracies and steppe barbarians, having organized against them something like a “peacemaking operation” – a military expedition from the Macedonian territories to Thrace. The distances for the planned campaign were just laughable as compared to the way across the Persian satrapies which had been covered by Macedonians for that time. If they went by sea, it would take them just a few days. The circumstances for a victorious campaign around the Pontus were also quite beneficial. The way from the Danube to the Gulf of Istrians was controlled A coin of Istria by the residents of Istria which

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Calculations and miscalculations of strategists

The location of the city of Olvia. In a space picture you can see the foundations of ancient buildings and the excavations of archeologists

were disposed friendly to Macedonians. Tauric Chersonesos followed lead of the Macedonian policy directed not by allied, but by its own economic interests; it was extremely interested in getting rid of the competitors from Olvia in the trade.

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At the beginning of the way of Zopyrion there were only Olvia and Scythians who at that time had already found out about the destiny of Miletus and the biggest part of the Persian satrapies. The victory over Olvia and Scythians opened the gate to the East and the rumors about this victory would pave the way farther – just like the messages about the victories of Alexander opened the gates of the cities of Persia for him as effectively as the spears and swords of his glorious warriors. As a matter of fact, in Olvia the situation was far from being trouble-free if not to say critical. A big conflict was brewing in the city between debtors and creditors. Circumstances of insuperable force under the condition of the war which had affected not only Hellas, but for three years had been devastating the southern shores of the Pontus, Asia Minor including a decrease in prices at the market of slaves didn’t contribute either to the flourishing of the economy of Olvia or to timely repayment of credits. There are grounds to think that in the city there was also “a fifth column” and it secretly cooperated with Macedonians (but it will be dealt with later). Under these circumstances Zopyrion had all the reasons to count on capturing Olvia with little effort. Besides these calculations were supported by a 30 thousand army the number of which either equaled or exceeded by three times the population of Olvia and its nearest suburbs. After the victory of Philip II over Scythians and the retreat of nomads beyond the Danube, it seems that Macedonians stopped treating Scythian barbarians seriously. Did Macedonian strategists forget how to calculate everything in advance, intruding into the territories of Scythians? It is hardly so. It is just that for three years which had passed since the beginning of the Persian campaign they managed to master quite different arithmetic which greatly differed from the one of the times of Philip II of Macedon. Before the beginning of the campaign (334 BC) Persia exceeded the territories of Macedonia in terms of sizes by 50 times and in terms of the population by about 25 times. The financial possibilities of Darius III and Alexander couldn’t be compared either. The fleet of Phoenicians which was controlled by Persia dominated in the Mediterranean Sea. The king of all kings had numerous voluntary military forces of satrapies at his disposal. In addition, he had something more important – hired for the Persian gold thousands of mercenaries-Hellenes, a great cavalry, to say nothing about the guard of the “immortal”, chariots and battle elephants and also Sakas who were relatives of Scythians. Against all this might there were only 30 thousand infantrymen and 5 thousand horsemen headed by king Alexander. All in all there were 35 thousand warriors, almost as many as Zopyrion had. However, we can clear-

Section 20. The campaign of Zopyrion An iron helmet of the times of the war with Zopyrion. It could be in the inventory of the Macedonian army. It is now displayed at the exhibition of the Central Museum of the Armed Forced of Ukraine

The associable producers of the film probably decided that modern viewers didn’t distinguish Sakas from “Scythians” – who could tell the difference… Nonetheless, it was quite interesting to see it for those who know “by sight” the finds from the burial mounds in the Cherkasy region. And if we take into account that in reality this armor was designed and made almost 150 years before the events shown in the film, then, as they say, no comments. The victor of the king of all kings was sure (and some of his advisers supported this confidence) of the greatness of his state and the goodwill of gods which had been clearly demonstrated by Olympians for the past few years. So, the Macedonian elite didn’t manage to understand the different between a dying empire and Olvia and Scythia consolidated due to a deadly threat as further events showed.

What antique historians hushed up

ly see an inverse proportion between the scales of the empire and the degree of its fortitude. But this is not arithmetic any more; most likely this is mathematics which passes into geopolitics. Of course, according to such calculations of Macedonian strategists either the voluntary military forces of Olbiopolitai or the horse formations of Scythians even in the event of their unification couldn’t be compared to the armies of Persians which had already been smashed in Asia. In the spring of 331 BC the Macedonian army set out from conquered Egypt to gain its final victory over Persia. In spring, near the village of Gaugamela, in the lands of ancient Assyria it would offer a battle to the military forces of Darius III which greatly outnumbered it and would defeat them. In the Hollywood film about Alexander there is a battle scene from this fight. In this scene they vividly show an attack of the Persian cavalry, to be more exact the units of nomads-Sakas, on the army of Macedonians. And these were not just some armor, but the same armor of that time which was reconstructed basing on the materials of excavations of burial mounds in Northern Black Sea area! And not just in Black sea area, but in the Forest-steppe, i.e. to the North of the territories of Scythians.

2

We might not know the details of that campaign and its results except those which antique historians that were loyal to Alexander considered necessary to tell their descendants. And we would never have found it out if archeologists hadn’t found fragments of a luxurious marble pedestal among the ruins of Olvia. The first part of the find – a part split in two halves was taken out of the land as far back as 1848. The next one with twelve lines of the inscription was found in 1900. However, only in May of 1978, almost one and a half centuries later, all the fragments were finally gathered and read. The inscription was dated to 20–30 of the 4th century BC. Only after this they managed to find out what historians of ancient times had hushed up. Who knows, probably the day will come schoolchildren who study the ancient history of the lands of Ukraine will read the lines of this inscription just like children of their age in German study messages about the fight with Romans or in France the lines from “Commentaries on the Gallic War” written by Caesar. And meanwhile, we would like to familiarize the readers with this important message from the past. A decree of gratitude on behalf of the Council and the demos (i.e. the people) of Olvia is carved on the base of the statue. The stone brought to us the name of the person who contemporaries and fellow citizens decided to thank for the rescue of their Homeland. His name was Callinicus, son of Euxenus2.

The full (to the extent possible) biography of this famous citizen of Olvia which was reproduced twenty three centuries later is described in the book: Русяева А.С., Супруненко А.Б. Исторические личности эллиноскифской эпохи. — Киев — Комсомольск, 2003. — С. 118—127 (Rusyaeva A.S., Suprunenko A.B. Historical characters of the Hellene-Scythian epoch).

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A fragment of the pedestal of the marble statue with an inscription in honor of Callinicus, the rescuer of Olvia

He and only he, in the opinion of fellow citizens, managed to find a way to rescue Olvia. He persuaded the public gathering to take a number of measures which allowed recuing the polis, finding a descent way out of a completely hopeless situation. First of all, the unity of the citizens of the polis was restored and restored with the help of extraordinary measures. At a public gathering a decree was adopted about cancelling all(!) debts. Probably the inevitable approaching of the Macedonian army made financiers of Olvia so clever that

they immediately understood a few things: either Zopyrion or even Alexander the Great under such circumstances would not guarantee either repayments or interest on loans and instead of gold or silver local moneylenders were really risking to get matiobuls (silver projectiles for the sling) in the form of reimbursement even if these matiobuls were marked with the name of king Alexander. But of course here their similarity to gold staters and silver tetradrachms ends. Moreover, most likely the city would be plundered and the citizens themselves would be sold into servitude. But if the polis survived and preserved independence, then probably their business would be preserved. The mentioned above decree in honor of Callinicus indicated the extraordinary effectiveness of the measure: “...the unity of the polis was achieved, all the forces were mobilized for the defense and this way the residents of the polis

Archeological excavations in the coastal part of Olvia

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The walls of Olvia. Computer reconstruction

were rescued from the Macedonian conquest”. This is how the conflict in the society of Olvia was solved. Then extraordinary taxes of the military time were imposed. The polis treasure received money for military expenses. However, in order to have enough warriors on the walls of the city they needed additional human reserves. And then the decree gave the right of citizenship to those who didn’t have it. These people are now rightful Olbiopolitai. They can and which is more important, must on legal grounds take weapons in their hands and protect the polis which became their home. But it appeared that even these warriors were not enough. Then the public gathering gives freedom to slaves. They will also stands on the walls. However, along the river the city doesn’t have walls yet that’s why they can only hope for the fleet. And there must be somebody who can protect at least the walls which are already built and which, by the way, had the length of more than 3.5 km. In order to put at least one warrior for every running meter, there must be more than three thousand warriors! But can this sparse chain of fighters-citizen soldiers repulse an assault of experienced and battle-hardened professional warriors? Probably some wonder will happen and then the first assault will be repulsed. But then the Macedonian army will proceed to the siege of the city in a serious way. It won’t be difficult to dig a tunnel under the walls of Olvia as they are not built on rocks. They may as well bring a battering ram to the walls and towers as there are no ditches in front of them. One way or another, the walls will fall and then nobody and nothing will stop Macedonians any more. It is not surprising that in the city there were people who (by the way, quite reasonably) didn’t doubt it. And they didn’t sit twiddling their thumbs either.

Silent witnesses of the events There is no considerable written evidence of what happened in the lands of Olvia during the campaign yet. Nonetheless, they managed to take out of the land a few interesting things. Among them is a letter of Nicophan, son of Adrastus. The honorable Nicophan scratched an inscription on a fragment of an amphora in which he informed about sending a horse as a gift to Zopyrion. It is not understood whether this letter implies that Macedonians reached the suburbs of the polis. The find of this letter gave modern historians grounds to make a conclusion about the present of “a fifth column” in Olvia which secretly communicated with the enemy. However, this fact is not surprising, taking into account the circumstances of that time. Probably the conspiracy was unveiled. The find of a mass grave is connected with the execution of conspirators. They found the remains of 52 people in it that had been beaten to

A message of the citizen of Olvia Nicophan to the Macedonian commander Zopyrion which is scratched on a fragment of a vessel

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Lead projectiles for the sling with the name of king Alexander which were found near the walls of Olvia

death with stones or shot from bows. A more conspicuous proof of the stay of the Macedonian siege corps near Olvia is the finds of the mentioned above matiobuls both on the territory of Olvia’s necropolis (i.e. near the city walls) and in a nearby suburban settlement of Olbiopolitai which is called Shyroka Balka by archeologists. These projectiles cast in lead have a mark with Greek letters: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΟΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ which means BASILEUS (i.e. king) ALEXANDER. Devout Olbiopolitai according to the customs of that time used such projectiles as presentations for local temples. The interesting fact is that the minting of coins in Olvia – staters of lead are dated by numismatists to 331. The material is not very traditional for the “hard” currency of that epoch, but it is quite symbolic.

The end of the events connected with Olvia Archeological excavations of Olvia suggest that the city was never captured by Macedonians. They didn’t find either the traces of an assault, or even a long siege, to say nothing about a fire which is an obligatory companion and indicator of violent battle operations. After the campaign of Zopyrion Olvia blossomed in an economic respect, it extends its territories on the shore of the estuary. So, the city didn’t share the sad destiny of Miletus. But did a thirty thousand army go away, having been frightened by the sight of the city voluntary military forces which consisted of civilians who had been mobilized in a hurry and also of yesterday’s slaves? Antique sources contain information that Zopyrion with his army went aboard ships and then died together with his fleet and the army during a fierce storm somewhere near the shore of the present-day Odessa region. They seem to pull the wool over our eyes; these authors are holding something back. In order to transport a thirty thousand contingent it is necessary to have a fleet consisting of at least a few hundred ships. A question arises whether the governor of Thrace had such an armada at his disposal in the first place? The answer suggests itself: having a descent fleet, the army of Zopyrion would have marched to the Caucasus or the Crimea a long time ago, having left a garrison in Olvia for maintaining legality and order and a group of warriors who were getting better. Since the city had no walls from the side of the sea at that time. In other words, the Macedonian landing party would just have to go to the gate and to scare the citizen soldiers away from the walls and towers from the rear. If there was no landing party, Zopyrion clearly didn’t have a descent fleet at his disposal. Otherwise, it remains to assume that the squadron of the Olbiopolitai ruled in the sea and exceeded the naval forces of the Macedonian governor of Thrace. Probably it is even harder to believe in it. It is much easier to believe in the catastrophic autumn storm during which Zopyrion vanished in the deep together with the staff and his personal guards. A trireme, a battle ship of the 4th century BC. Modern reconstruction

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Section 21

The “Scythian trace” in the victory of the Olbiopolitai nd what about the “innocent Scythians”? Did they remain only observers and didn’t interfere in anything? Since the army of Zopyrion went to the walls of Olvia across their territories. The march to the Caucasus planned by Macedonians would also lie across the Scythian lands, to say nothing about the fact that Scythians could be cut off from the sea (and thus from profitable trade) by the newly minted Macedonian superstate. Under these circumstances Scythians would hardly sit snug in endless steppes. So, where is it, the Scythian trace in this war? Can we find something more after twenty odd centuries? It turns out that everything is not that hopeless.

A

Indeed, it is true that there are no direct, written proofs, for example, of some treaty of alliance between Scythians and the Olbiopolitai. There are no mentions about the presence of a limited contingent of Scythian archers on the walls of the city or about the nighttime (daytime) attacks of the cavalry of Nomads on Macedonian camps either. Indeed,

there are only considerations of researchers, but it’s worth noting that they are quite reasonable. However, there is one clue. For the delivery of food for a multi-thousand army which went on a distant campaign Macedonians needed strongholds. A few cities on the shore could become such bases. Among them are Tyra,

Populated areas and the places where treasures were found that could be connected with the campaign of Zopyrion

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Only Scythians remain. Their raid could reduce to smoke and ashes victualling stores in the rear bases of Zopyrion, having undermined the delivery of food to the hostile army this way. The same action within one day would make it useless to continue the campaign along the Northern shore of the Pontus. Probably it is the message about the devastation of Nikoniy and Harbor Istrian that made the Macedonian commander urgently go back to Thrace to solve the problems in some way. Besides, at that moment he could do it only by sea. Since in the area of Harbor Istrian and Nikoniy there appeared Scythians who knew almost every pathway in A Scythian warrior-horseman with a spear. A gold pendant from the burial mound the steppe. So, only the way Kul-Oba in the Crimea. The 4th century BC by sea remained free and uncontrolled by horse archers. However, then quite opportunely (of course, for Nikoniy (their ruins are now excavated in the Odessa Scythians) awful autumn storms began… region) and Harbor Istrian (its traces, as they think, are found in the area of the Sukhoy Estuary near Odessa). There is an opinion that the latter belonged to the city Istria which was an ally of Macedonians at that time. By Battle scenes on Scythian gold the way, Harbor Istrian was the last port on the way to Olvia. Probably among Scythian treasures excavated by So, two points – Nikoniy and Harbor Istrian, as archeologists there is also one more trace of the events modern researchers argue, were devastated “…approxithat took place in the Pontic steppes that year. In the mately in 330 BC”. Among the ruins they found treasures tombs of two burial mounds – Chortomlyk and one of of coins for which nobody ever came back. It turns out Pyatybratnyi mounds they found gold facing of sword that the owners of the money were killed by somebody sheaths with an image of the battle between Scythians and and most likely were captured and resold as slaves. By the warriors, so to say, of the Hellene world. These products way, antique historians left no records about the destrucare dated by experts to the second half – the end of the 4th tion of a few cities – military bases, the death of garrisons century BC, i.e. exactly to the time of the Scythian and and residents and also about who did it. Macedonian confrontation. Theoretically there are only two contenders for the On the one hand, we have an illustration to the laurels of the heroes of this raid: the Olbiopolitai and ancient myth or epos in front of us. However, this scene Scythians. It’s worth noting that the former described in can as well be determined as “the triumph of Scythian detail the feats of Callinicus which had been performed weapons”. We have a battle episode carved on a thin after the retreat of Macedonians including the amphibigold plate with the width of only a few centimeters in ous assault for liberating the sanctuary of Achilles front of us. Four Scythians, three dismounted and one Pontarchus from pirates on present-day Serpent Island. mounted, fight with six dismounted adversaries and the But the victory over the allies of the Macedonian fight doesn’t end in a good way for Hellenes. Their foraggressors, Istrians, was not included into this victorimations are already broken and instead of the indestrucous list. Maybe it didn’t happen? However, the tible phalanx only separate warriors resist Scythians. Olbiopolitai hardly needed ruins in the place of Hellene Two of them are already wounded; one of them is harbors – it would be much more useful to take them wounded with an arrow. The battle fell into a few draunder control. matic single battles.

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Section 21. The “Scythian trace” in the victory of the Olbiopolitai A golden sheath for a sword with an image of the fight between Hellenes and Scythians. The burial mound Pyatybratnyi, the 4th century BC

It’s worth noting that one of the Hellenes (the one to the extreme left, in a helmet with a crest) is considered to be “a commander” by some researchers. He turned round, probably calling for help. Besides, a Scythian who is holding a bow in his left hand is about to strike him with his weapon. Another Hellene is trying to strike the blow which is being delivered at his companion-in-arms by another Scythian aside with his spear. Probably, on the facing of the sheath they portrayed an event (for example, the death of a Hellene commander) that determined the end of the war which is unknown to us. The find of two identical sheaths suggests that a number of “award weapons” were made. Taking into account the fact that the sheaths were found in burial places of Scythian rulers, it is quite possible that some of them acted as a customer and explained to a craftsman in detail not only the contents, but also the details of the story. Taking into consideration the fact that the burial place in the mound Chortomlyk could belong to the supreme ruler of Scythia and the burial place in the mound Pyatybratnyi could belong to the ruler of one of its regions, then we can assume that in this military conflict almost all the Scythian “chain of command” was involved. And the geography of the location of the mentioned above burial

mounds (Chortomlyk in Dnieper area, Pyatybratnyi in Don area) allow imagining from what territory Scythians were gathered to set out on a victorious campaign. It is unlikely that the raid on Olvia or Bosporus could require “general mobilization” from Scythians in the lands from the Borisphen to the Tanais. The only formidable enemy against whom it was worth gathering such an army in those years was the army of the invincible Alexander or his commanders. We can even try to imagine roughly not only ordinary Scythians horsemen, but also some of the commanders of this campaign, basing on the dates of burial places in the mounds of the elite. Since this was truly the golden time of Scythia. We have already mentioned Chortomlyk and Pyatybratnyi mounds. We can also add to their “owners” the owner of the famous pectorale (the burial mound Tovsta Mohyla), the owner of the silver cup and rhyta (Haymanova Mohyla). Who knows, maybe on the walls of this beautiful cup the portraits of the participants of the war are carved? A noble Scythian buried in Babyna Mohyla could also be a veteran of that war. The silver front strap of his battle horse was decorated with an image of the ancestor

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An image of Scythians on a cup from Gaimanov Mohyla, the 4th century BC. The owner of the cup might be a contemporary and/or a participant of the war with Macedonians

of Scythians who leans on a staff, the invincible Hercules himself. Probably the warrior who is buried in Soboleve Mohyla was also the participant of the victorious campaign against the Macedonian aggressors. Here, in a hiding place, among other things archeologists found a silver kylix with the Greek “alpha” scratched at the bottom. The mentioned above burial mounds (except Pyatybratnyi mound) are situated in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, only a few days’ journey from Olvia. And the boundaries of the territories of their owners were probably much further to the South.

Storm or Scythians? The question what exactly became the reason for the death of a thirty thousand army even headed by the commander remains open. Let’s have it straight, this is an unprecedented case in the Macedonian practice of that time. Antique historians directly write about one reason – a fierce storm. The phrase that Zopyrion died, “atoning for the ill-considered beginning of the war with the innocent people”, doesn’t clarify the situation. The Olbiopolitai first of all consider Callinicus to be their rescuer and then, of course, demos, i.e. all the people of Olvia. Domestic historians who consider themselves to be the successors of the invincible steppe warriors usually write that the army of Zopyrion was annihilated by

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Scythians during its retreat. Historians who were born in the countries on the right bank of the Danube by force of certain relative connections with the Triballoi and the Getae think that it is their distant ancestors who smashed the Macedonians. However, probably we will never know what exactly Scythians or the Triballoi and the Getae thought about these events (and which is more important, how they contributed to it). Something is preserved in the ground. Taking into account these finds and also the mentioned above written sources, we will dare to assume one more interpretation of the sad end (for Zopyrion and his army) of the events of 331 BC. So, Zopyrion, having sailed from Olvia, dies during a storm, according to ancient authors. Since there are not enough ships to transport all the huge army, most of its part remains under the walls of Olvia, waiting either for the delivery of victuals or for the flotilla for the general evacuation to Thrace. They don’t have to wait for long. Macedonian foragers don’t even have enough time to rob the suburbs of Olvia to a great extent and the army doesn’t hurry to entrench themselves and to build a winter camp. Time went by. There are no victuals yet and soon the command receives a message about the sad destiny of Zopyrion. It becomes clear that there is no reinforcement and most likely there won’t be any. The army deprived of its Commander-in-Chief can’t spend the winter under the walls of Olvia without food, besides, having Scythians in

Section 21. The “Scythian trace” in the victory of the Olbiopolitai their rear. The army raised the siege and went home without unnecessary things. Probably at first the retreat was quite organized that’s why the Olbiopolitai received as trophies only heavy ammunition which was useless in such a march, i.e. those lead projectiles for the sling with the inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΟΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ. But still this retreat hardly resembled a triumphal campaign. We can imagine what a solemn farewell ceremony was held for Macedonians by Scythians on autumn roads which became soft due to rain or maybe in the Budzhak steppe covered with the first snow, remembering the past defeat of Ateas and the captivity of his relatives. Probably they didn’t want to wait till the invincible Macedonian phalanx deployed for a battled in the plain. Most likely the steppe warriors used a good old tactics of the times of the Persian war: instead of a suicidal frontal attack of the cavalry on the long spears, they showered Macedonian warriors with arrows. The same warm reception for the remains of the Macedonian task force was prepared behind the Danube. Probably the Triballoi also remembered well the wealthy plunder which was taken away by them from Philip of Macedon only eight years ago. Not to mention quite a natural desire to pay back for the cruel “antiterrorist” operations of Alexander four years ago. Under these circumstances the Macedonian army could survive only by some miracle. But it seems that this miracle never occurred.

Forgotten treasures and trophies A find which was discovered near the modern Moldavian village of Olanesht can be a probable archeological proof of the death of some part of the Macedonian warriors. Here they found the remains of protective armor with the marks of their owners and other things which had been hidden for better times. This full outfit could belong to officers of the army of Zopyrion. When studying the things from this treasure, researchers pointed out that the traces of blows were noticed well on bronze armor. The weapons of Macedonian hoplites were hidden far from their homeland, probably after the death of their lawful owners. Scythians clearly received some of the weapons of the warriors of the army of Zopyrion; in burial places from the Ister to the Tanais archeologist still find antique bronze helmets and greaves. They found a few dozen knemidas of the antique pattern this way. It is quite possible that trophies of the war with Zopyrion can be among them. Other lawful owners didn’t come back even for their gold and silver. In 1967 in the village of Orlovka in the Odessa region (near the crossing over the Dnieper) in an ancient bronze jug they found a reassure of coins – staters.

A helmet from the Oloneshty Treasure which could belong to an officer from the army of Zopyrion

They were made in the Asia Minor city Cyzicus between 405 and 350 BC. It’s worth noting that we know the last year this city made this coin – this is 330 BC. Of course, such coins could be in circulation for quite a lot of time, but after 330 BC the Cyzicus coins were supplanted by gold coins minted at the behest of Alexander from huge plunder which had been captured in Persia. In 331 BC Cyzicus coins which were taken from the treasures captured by Alexander the Great in Asia might as well be used by Zopyrion to recruit an army and to finance the campaign to the walls of Olvia. A few treasures with Istrian coins which were found along the probable route of the attack or the retreat of the Macedonian army are dated to the same time. For twenty three centuries the lawful owners haven’t withdrawn their savings from “the land bank”. Now Cyzicus coins adorn the exposition of the Odessa archeological museum, reminding of the events which took place almost 2300 years ago. It is quite possible that it is worth looking for some trophies among the finds of the burial places of Scythia which have already been excavated and are dated after 330 BC. This can be weapons and also some precious things (products of gold and silver) which Scythians might use in their everyday life. For instance, in quite a wealthy burial mound Soboleva Mohyla they found bronze knemidas-greaves. This kind of armor was included into the outfit of Macedonian hoplites of the phalanx. Besides, in the hiding place of the same burial mound they found a vessel for drinking wine which was made of silver – a kylix. In the opinion of experts, this find is very similar to the products of Macedonian craftsmen of the middle – the third quarter

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Gold Cyzicus coins from the Orlov treasure

of the 4th century BC.1 At the bottom of one of the kylixes you can see the scratched Greek “alpha”, i.e. “A”. Let us remind you that the name of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great started with this letter. It’s worth noting that similar kylixes were also found in other Scythian burial mounds of Northern Pontic area. Of course, such things could be bought at the market in Olvia or in Tyra. However, officers from the army of

Zopyrion who went on a distant and dangerous campaign just had to take such vessels in the best traditions of that time with them. And the commander himself had to have such things in his chests in order to celebrate victories over barbarians in a decent way. Thus, these silver kylixes made in Macedonia could as well be captured in the string of carts which was robbed by a detachment of Scythian horsemen somewhere near the crossing over the Tyras or the Ister.

A silver kylix from the burial place in Soboleva Mohyla (the second half of the 4th century BC) which was probably made by Macedonian craftsmen. Probably a trophy of Scythians-victors in the war against Zopyrion and his army

1

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According to the definition of M.Yu. Troister (appendix 3 to the book Мозолевский Б. Н., Полин С.В. Курганы скифского Герроса IV в. до н.э. — Киев, Стилос, 2005. (Mozolevskyi B.N., Polyn S.V. Burial mounds of the Scythian Gerros of the 4th century BC).

Section 21. The “Scythian trace” in the victory of the Olbiopolitai

Doleful news which didn’t grieve the king However, military men at all times were not disposed to give a detailed description of their defeats, especially to inform the command about such cases. Moreover, to inform such a commander as Alexander the Great. And if they were to report, then it would be much easier to blame everything on “the fiercest storm”, to blame everything on the weather conditions. Besides, the weather is controlled by the Olympic Gods themselves and let the son of Zeus, Alexander, speak with them as a member of the family. The news about the death of Zopyrion reached the headquarters of Alexander on the territory of Persia one year later – in the spring of 330 BC. The governor of Macedonia Antipatrus reported this news together with similar important pieces of news including the death of other commanders – Alexander of Epirus and Agidus. There are proofs that the king was not very disappointed with the misfortune of Zopyrion. Why? Some of the modern researchers of Scythians assume that the king just didn’t want to share the glory of the victor of the invincible Scythians with anybody. That’s why he probably could sigh with relief, having received this doleful news. Besides, in the spring of 330 BC equally significant and important affairs were waiting for king Alexander compared to the conquest of now so distant Scythia. In any case, whether these were Scythians or the storm, but neither Zopyrion, nor his 30,000 army never gained the rear of Persians. So, suddenly Scythians acted as the defenders of the Persian state the ruler of which as far back as 180 years ago tried to conquer their land. However, even this unasked help of Scythians didn’t save multi-thousand armies of Darius III from the defeat in decisive battles with the hoplites of Alexander who eventually reached distant India…

repaired, the free and independent polis grew rich quickly on trade, in other words, economic flourishing came. The most precious proofs of this flourishing which have survived to this day were made at the mint of Olvia already in 330 BC, soon after the described events. These were silver and later gold coins. On the latter ones there was an image of Borisphen and on the reverse there was a dolphin and two letters: ΟΛ – i.e. “Olvia”. On silver coins, besides Borisphen, there was an image of weapons. And these were weapons of the Scythian type – a small bow in the case-gorytos and battle axes with long helves. Twenty three centuries ago staters, drachmas and tetradrachms brought the news to near and distant poleis, to friends and enemies, to Hellenes and barbarians: Olvia is alive! Olvia defeated its enemies and is flourishing. And we can assume that the image of typical weapons reminded the friends and enemies: not only the ancient God Borisphen is behind us, Scythia is also behind us. And even now that only ruins remained from Olvia itself, archeologists who excavate the remains of the ancient city compose songs about those glorious times2. Twenty three odd centuries ago, having realized the significance and importance of the events which took

Rewards for the victors So, what did the victors of Zopyrion get as a reword, since even if the war had been won by the storm, then all the same as a result this situation was to the benefit of quite real Hellenes and barbarians. The best reward for both of them was freedom. Since neither the Northern shore of the Euxeinos Pontus, nor the Crimea were ever included into the huge empire of Alexander. What other rewards did Hellenes get? Democracy prevailed in Olvia (even though it didn’t last for long). New settlements were rebuilt and new ones were established, new fortifications were built and the old ones were 2

Olvian silver coins which were minted after the victory over Zopyrion. On the reverse side weapons are portrayed: a Scythian bow and an axe

Буйских С.Б. Могучий древний град // Пыль золотая. — К.: Академия, 1994. — С. 119—120 (Buiskykh S.B. The powerful

ancient city // Golden dust).

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A gold coin-hemidrachm, a symbol of the economic upturn of the polis after the victorious war. Olvia, the end of the 4th century BC

place, the grateful demos of Olvia rewarded (a horse statue dedicated to Zeus the Rescuer, a gold wreath and one thousand gold coins) to their citizen (and a professional financier) Callinicus during his life. It’s worth noting that the history has preserved the proofs only about two cases when a Hellene, a citizen of a polis, received similar (in terms of significance and value) honor and rewards for his services while he was still alive. Besides, the Olbiopolitai received a reserve of lead in the form of projectiles for the sling with the proud inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΟΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ. Part of these products were dedicated by them to gods (probably they melted them into votive bucranes and double axes-labryses many of which were found in the necropolis of Olvia) and probably another part was used in the same reasonable way. However, there is no information about how Hellenes thanked their neighbors-barbarians for the support. The fact that their relations were friendly doesn’t arouse any doubt – otherwise the extension of the Olvia suburbs-Chora during a war indicated by the researchers would not be possible at all. And what did Scythians get and how did they benefit from these events? Their rulers got what they were supposed to want most of all: glory and wealth. They confirmed their glory of the invincible (and preserved independence). No matter what they wrote about the wish of Macedonians to conquer antique poleis, all these poleis were situated mostly in the Scythian land. And the one who unsheathed his sword for poleis encroached on Scythia itself. So, just like before everybody had to take Scythians into consideration – both Hellenes and even Macedonians. Now let’s talk about wealth. The Olbiopolitai, one way or another, remained eternal debtors, but at least now (thanks to Callinicus, the defeat of the common enemy, the unprecedented economic upturn) they were much more solvent. Taking everything into account, the conquerors-losers and their allies who were even less lucky had to pay Scythians. By the way, they had to do it twice. For the first time they had to pay with spoils of war, prisoners-slaves

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during the conflict (the capture of Istrian harbors). Let’s also add the trophies from the defeat of the army of Zopyrion here. For the second time, Scythians were probably paid by Alexander himself. There is a record that in 328 BC during the victorious campaign to Persia ambassadors from distant barbarian Scythia visited his headquarters for some important negotiations. Since the negotiations of such a high level in ancient times (and even now) couldn’t do without mutual luxurious gifts, Scythians could get gold products made by Hellenes. It is quite possible that among the gold products which have been found for the last 150 years during excavations of Scythian burial mounds there are gifts which were sent by the invincible king Alexander to equally invincible Scythian rulers during that diplomatic mission. Archeologists assume that a series of gold gorytos – cases for the bow are probably connected with this event. Four such products have been found to this day: in Melgunov, Chortomlyk, Melitopol and Pyatybratnyi burial mounds. Returning to their native steppes across immense territories of the devastated Persian state, Scythian ambassadors who no doubt were respectable and clever people couldn’t but ponder over something. These thoughts might include the fact that their country was very lucky because it had evaded the destiny of their defeated neighbors. And in their travel bags they hid golden gorytos with the image of the wisest of all Achaeans – Odysseus and the most powerful one Achilles, the divine Achilles

Bucranes and labryses cast in lead which were found during excavations in the Olvian necropolis. The end of the 4th – the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. These products might as well be made from those projectiles that had been brought under the walls of Olvia by the warriors from the army of Zopyrion

Section 21. The “Scythian trace” in the victory of the Olbiopolitai

Golden serial gorytos of the 4th century BC which were found in Chortomlyk, Melgunov, Melitopol and Pyatybratnyi burial mounds. Probably these are the king’s gifts to Scythian rulers

Pontarchus. As a reminder of their crown-bearing presenter that might still return to the shores of the Pontus with great power… However, other patterns of “the visual agitation” have also survived to this day – let’s remember the mentioned above series of Scythian award weapons. So, we can assume that the main feast of the victory with a parade, a spectacular award ceremony and a sumptuous banquet where they drank plenty of Hellene wine which was not mixed with water were arranged by Scythians themselves. And at this banquet they drank this wine from trophy Macedonian kylixes of pure silver.

Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that there is another interpretation of the scenes on sword sheaths. It consists in the fact that here there are scenes from the Trojan War which portray the victory of Achaeans (portrayed in the image of Hellenes) over “barbarians” (in the image of Scythians). These scenes are portrayed with the purpose of a homily, a reminder for Scythian rulers who received them as gifts from the victorious Hellenes. Finally such a gift could look like a promise to return some day, to come to the shores of the Pontus with an army, to come in order to gain a victory over both refractory democrats-Hellenes and overweening barbarians-Scythians. To tell the truth,

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Scenes from the life of Achilles which are portrayed on a golden gorytos

Scythians-sworn brothers. A gold plate. The 4th century BC

this visual agitation doesn’t look very convincing in this form: few killed Scythians and unreasonably many (for a didactic scene) casualties among Hellenes. We would like to remind you that indeed the idea of a campaign to Scythia never left king Alexander. The reception of two embassies of “European” Scythians (in 328 and 324 BC) during the Persian campaign pursued, as they think, among others, the purpose of finding

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out the potential of the probable enemy. Intending to conquer India, the great conqueror dreamed of returning to Hellas in order to go further to Pontus across the Hellespont and the Propontis with all his forces both maritime and ground ones. Returning from India, the king probably was still thinking about where he could turn his victorious weapons. The list of countries and lands which he intended to conquer was rather long: Arabia, Libya, Carthage, Sicily, Italy… But at that time, as one ancient historian wrote, he still wanted “to float to the Euxeinos Pontus, to Scythians and to the Maiotis”… The last embassy of Scythians visited Alexander in Babylon in 324 BC, but already in May of 323 the king passed away and his plans and ideas connected with floating to the Pontus remained unrealized. The successors of the great king would still have an occasion to fight both with Scythians and with Pontic poleis. However, further events could hardly be compared with what could happen to this land in the event of the realization of the great plans of Alexander.

Section 22

Witnesses of the greatness of Scythia he witnesses of the flourishing are royal burial mounds, burial vaults of the rulers of Great Scythia. The height of mounds of the biggest funeral constructions amounted to 20 and even more meters, almost each of them received their own names (true, in later times and not from Scythians) – Oguz, Solokha, Chortomlyk. Some of them had the name Mohyla with different prefixes: Babyna, Vodyana, Hostra, Strashna, Tovsta, Nechayev. In the 19th century, when scientific excavations of Scythian burial mounds were only started, in the European press you could sometimes find the most incredible news. For instance, in one of the publications it was claimed that in “… burial mounds of Russia and Tataria they found bodies which had been put on wide sheets of gold with the weight of about two hundred pounds (i.e. 80 kg) with bronze weapons decorated with rubies and emeralds”. It’s worth noting that such tales were not accidental as a few decades remained till the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun that’s why Scythian antiquities led the top list of the fabulous treasures of the Old World quite reasonably. At that time you could find out about the peculiarities of the funeral rite of Scythians only from historical works of Herodotus. He was treated in the educated (and also quite critical to authorities) 19th century as the author of beautiful fairy tales rather than a respected historian whose all records are worthy of trust. And only serious archeological excavations not only confirmed his records, but also revealed details which were not known to Herodotus.

T

How to build a pyramid in the steppe A lot of books about Scythian burial mounds, their construction, treasures and secrets have been written and published. Lately one more work which without exaggeration can be recommended as an encyclopedia of diverse aspects of the Scythian “mound building” in the steppes of Ukraine has been published.1 As for steppe burial mounds, we would like to note that the word “pyramid” can hardly be used in its direct meaning. It is more like a symbol of some funeral ritual

and also the greatness and might of ancient rulers. And mounds themselves had a typical half-spheric form which didn’t look like pyramids. There are a lot of versions concerning the purpose of such funeral constructions as burial mounds. Lately it has been suggested to interpret burial mounds of Scythian kings – complex and huge constructions – as palaces, a certain compensation for the fact that the steppe rulers didn’t have real palaces during their lives. And an ordinary burial mound in this case can be as well regarded as a dwelling.

A funeral of a Scythian king. A diorama from the Archeological Museum of the Institute of Archeology (Kyiv) 1

Мозолевский Б. Н., Полин С.В. Курганы скифского Герроса IV в. до н.э. — Киев, Стилос, 2005. — 600 с. (Mozolevskyi B.N.,

Polin S.B. The burial mounds of the Scythian Gerros of the 4th century BC).

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A Scythian stele with the remains of painting. The Odessa Archeological Museum

A funeral of a Scythian king. Fragments of a diorama from the Archeological Museum of the Institute of Archeology (Kyiv)

The construction of a dwelling or a palace and even a mound, even if it is small, is a complex process. First it was necessary to find an appropriate place for the future construction and to allocate some space for it. The choice of the location corresponded to the ancient tradition – on elevations, especially on watersheds. In some places mounds still adorn the landscape. The chosen place was marked with a circular ditch the diameter of which depended on the specific dimensions of the future construction.

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Later the ditch played a certain role in the funeral ritual. Both small and huge mounds were built just like in ancient times of pieces of divot, a symbol of the afterlife pastures and terrestrial greatness. They were built by stages. In order to prevent mounds from falling apart, they were surrounded by stone circles-crepidomas, bringing the materials for the construction sometimes from many kilometers away. In the burial mound Chortomlyk such crepidomas were built by a few teams of masons – separate portions appeared to be laid in a different way. Less grandiose burial mounds were reinforced not with the help of crepidomas, but with a stone coat, covering the mound from the ground with a layer of stones and then adding more ground. In some burial mounds there could be a few crepidomas – eight meter Babyna Mohyla had two of them. It was topped with a stele, though only part of the pedestal has been preserved. We know well how exactly these steles looked like because they have found a few hundreds of them in the steppe areas of Ukraine. One of the most famous steles is exhibited in the Archeological Museum of the Institute of Archeology. It portrays a long-mustached warrior who holds in his hand a horn filled with wine and a short sword near the waist. His masculine dignity is also emphasized quite expressively. Probably a similar image of a powerful steppe warrior also decorated Babyna Mohyla. These statues were not necessarily sad, grey monuments. In the Odessa Archeological Museum you can see a stele on which adornments, parts of clothes and even footwear are painted with red ocher. Using the images on steles you can study weapons, adornments and clothes of steppe warriors. A stele in honor of a Scythian warrior-hero

Section 22. Witnesses of the greatness of Scythia

An excavation of a burial mound of the Scythian time in the Forest-steppe. The yellow ground which you can see in the section of the mound was taken out when digging the grave and put around it in the form of a small bank. Coals are the remains of a wooden “pavilion” of tree trunks which was burnt over the filled up grave

In the forest-steppe before building a burial mound itself they built a wooden pavilion over the grave which sometimes consisted of a dozen poles with the thickness of 10–15 cm. Then it was burnt. And only after this they made a burial mound itself. The huge fire sort of sealed up the burial place on top. In addition, the fire burnt the clay of the primary mound creating a shell-core which was not worse than the stone one. Both the dimensions of burial mounds and the scope of the work performed during their construction are impressive. Of course, these mounds can’t be compared to Egyptian pyramids. Let’s compare: the dimensions of the

biggest pyramid amounted to 2,642,064 m3 and the dimensions of the biggest preserved Scythian burial mound (Oguz, the height 21 m, the diameter 100–110 m) amount to 140,000 m3, i.e. as little as 19 times. Not to mention that the pyramid was built of stone and the burial mound was built of divot and ground.

The excavations of the Melitopol burial mound in 1954 were carried out by O.I. Terenozhkin and O.F. Pokrovska. The timbering of blocks is meant for assuring the safety of the work. This was the first, but not the last “royal” burial mound which had been excavated by the expedition of the Institute of Archeology

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The burial mounds of the Scythian time in the Forest-steppe which were mentioned in the text

On the other hand, the calculation of the labor costs for the construction of “Scythian pyramids” made it possible to determine that a complex social hierarchy was reflected in the dimensions of the funeral monuments of Scythia just like in the tombs of Egypt. This hierarchy is headed by giants like Chortomlyk, Oguz, Olexandropil burial mound. Their mounds with the height of up to 19–21 m contained from 70,000 to 140,000 m3 of ground without taking into account the stones of crepidomas. Further we have a more modest group, up to 8–14 m which required “only” 11,000–50,000 m3. The third group is 4–6 meter mounds which contained from 2,500 to 5,000 m3. And this is only the hierarchy of the Scythian elite. The materials for the construction of mounds and the building of funeral structures, first of all stone and wood, were sometimes brought from dozens of kilometers away. The roads of the Scythian time which lead to mounds can still be seen in aerial photographs. By the way, just like the traces of ancient burial mounds which have already been demolished from the surface of the ground. There can be a few tombs under a Scythian burial mound, especially under a big burial mound. Tombs were placed deep under the ground, creating sort of a copy of a dwelling. Vertical shafts with the depth of about 10 and even of about 15 meters led to the entrance. A passage from the shaft to the cave of the funeral chamber was made. Tombs placed at a depth and connected with the surface with the help of access shafts are typical of steppe

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Scythian burial mounds. By the way, you can trace the movement of the residents of the steppe to the North where funeral traditions are quite different with the help of such constructions. The population of the Forest-steppe which is called “forest-steppe Scythians” by scientists built funeral chambers in a different way. They were placed at the depth of 2–3 meters from the surface. This was a rectangular foundation pit. The dimensions depended on the rank of the dead man. If it was, say, a warrior, then his grave was 2×3 m and if it was a person with a higher position, then this could be 4×4 and even 6×6 m. And it’s worth noting that this was not the limit. Such a tomb didn’t resemble a cave which was hollowed out in the clay any more, but it was more like a dwelling lowered under the ground. The walls of a tomb were covered with wood, the ceiling (a layer of blocks or chopped wood) was supported with posts and sometimes even with rectangular beams. The walls could also be decorated with fabric. Weapons and outfit were hung on iron nails driven in the boarding. The ceiling of a tomb sometimes resembled a starry sky. In one of the burial mounds the ceiling was decorated with fabric with sewed gold plates. A wealthy dead man had a wooden bed covered with fabric or leather. A warrior was supposed to have more modest bedding; sometimes it was replaced with protective armor which was put on the ground bottom of the grave and covered with iron plates.

Section 22. Witnesses of the greatness of Scythia

“Royal” burial mounds of the steppe area and the probable location of Gerros – the place of the burial of the rulers of Great Scythia

Treasures of burial mounds Unfortunately, neither sheets of gold with the weight of two hundred pounds nor weapons decorated with rubies or emeralds have been found in Scythian burial mounds for the last one hundred years. They haven’t found yet either golden carriages or gold gooses which sit on gold eggs or other amazing things about which news-

Imported Hellene vessels for drinking wine – an obligatory thing for the burial of Scythians in the 5th–the 4th century BC

papers have written before and still write and about which local experts of antiquities like to tell. However, sometimes reality can be even more impressive than old tales and even newspaper news. Every Scythian dead man, especially a powerful ruler was equipped for a fight, hunting and banquets in the other world. He was accompanied with weapons – a sword, a gorytos with a bow and arrows, on the walls of a tomb they hung spears, darts and armor. They also put precious gold and silver vessels, sometimes painted kraters and kantharoses which had been brought from distant Hellas. In most ancient burial mounds even noble persons limited themselves to vessels of the local production.

In the most ancient burial mounds they also put vessels of the local production for strong drinks. The big cup from the burial mound Repyakhuvata Mohyla

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Gold pendants which adorned woman’s footwear. The Melitopol burial mound

Dead people were dressed in and next to dead people there were luxurious clothes generously decorated with gold plates which sometimes covered even the footwear, especially woman’s one. Adornments were not only put on a dead man, but were also put in wooden boxes next to him. And they also put flowers in a grave – from roses to field flowers. The pollen from these plats was found in the ground samples which were taken from ancient graves. In niches near the entrance to a burial vault they put amphorae with the best wine and a bronze pot with meat. Wine was put for three times, seven amphorae in each niche (here is Scythian “royal portion”)! On the amphorae which were put in burial places they

Beads which lay in a wooden box. The Melitopol burial mound, the picture by O.F. Pokrovska

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Excavations of “the service niche” in the Melitopol burial mound. You can see the “royal portion” of amphorae, a bronze pot. Next to them there is a grave of the “steward” of the steppe ruler

found inscriptions which sometimes indicated some drinks. One amphora from the Ryzhanovka burial mound preserved a scratched inscription ΘΕΙ which can be translated as “great, wonderful wine” and ΑΧΙΝΕΣ “the one which gives pleasure” or according to another version “not harmful”. Amphorae were supplied with special scoops and sometimes even with a sieve for filtering wine. Sacrificial meat was put on stone dishes next to knives. Not a single trifle was forgotten. Appliances for striking fire which were sometimes left in niches over the entrance to tombs are quite impressive; flint stones and ceramic lamps next to them which used to be filled with oil have been preserved. Of course, a king was accompanied with beloved horses; they were buried in separate graves and decorated with harnesses of gold and silver. Sometimes they put family relics in a grave. In the burial mound Oguz they found probably antiquated protective armor for horses which were harnessed in a battle chariot: plenty of bronze plates which were once sewed on a leather base. The

A big bronze pot which is an integral part of a burial place of a wealthy Scythian. In the picture you can see it before and after the restoration

number of horses which were buried together with a wealthy owner sometimes amounted to dozens. An ordinary warrior was also accompanied with a loyal horse or sometimes with two horses. And the harnesses of their horses were decorated in a more modest way, with bronze accessories. But not only weapons, treasures, food reserves and horses, but also fellow tribesmen accompanied ferocious rulers – the entrance to a burial vault was guarded by a warrior, goblets were filled with wine by a cupbearer. And a loyal wife, if not at once, then some time later, moved to the next tomb, sometimes with their child and also with all their earthly treasures and sometimes with all servants. For Scythians who were not very rich they put only one or two amphorae one of which could be with wine and the other one with milk. The content of molded vessels which they managed to analyze in modern laboratories included water, bouillon and… drugs. Special vessels on high legs were meant for their use. So, the story of Herodotus that Scythians used the seeds of grass in an appropriate way appeared to be confirmed by a modern examination. Every thing in a burial place had its purpose. For instance, in wealthy burial places of the

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes An antique krater, a vessel for mixing wine with water. It was found in the Berdyansk burial mound. It could be used to pour wine during the ceremonies of honoring warriors who had killed a certain number of adversaries

“royal” level they find vessels for wine and its use made of precious metals and also expensive painted pottery which had been bought from Greeks. However, according to researchers, these sets were not meant for ordinary meals and banquets. They remind of the story of Herodotus that once a year the ruler of the region gathered Scythians from all the neighborhood and poured wine with his own hand to the one who had killed at least one foe for the accounting period. Less lucky

tribesmen watched this ceremony with envy. So, the set from the Berdyansk burial mound which included a luxurious antique krater and a few kantharoses could be meant exactly for this kind of a ceremony. In other words, the “owner” of the burial mound-palace had at his disposal all the necessary things so that he could celebrate the feats of the warriors of his tribe or his clan in a descent way even in the other world. After the funeral a funeral feast was held. And fellow tribesmen didn’t go far from the grave. A funeral repast was organized here as well. Broken amphorae from wine, plenty of bones of animals suggest its scope. All this is found during excavations of circular ditches which surround a grave. The higher position the dead man occupied, the more people took part in the funeral repast. Modern archeologists study ditches with the same enthusiasm as tombs themselves. Since unlike tombs, mound robbers have never been interested in the contents of ditches. And archeologist not only grew interested, but also thoroughly studied all the finds, which made it possible to make some rather interesting calculations.

The burial mound Perepyatykha, the burial place of a ruler of the Scythian time in the Forest-steppe. The picture by T.G. Shevchenko who worked as a painter during the excavations of ancient burial mounds in the Kyiv province published in 1846

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Section 22. Witnesses of the greatness of Scythia In the partly excavated ditch of the burial mound Tovsta Mohila (the one where they found the gold pectorale) archeologists found bones of 35 horses, 14 wild boars and two deer. Part of horses were buried as a sacrifice and pork (6 pigs and 8 boars) was used for the funeral repast. All in all, according to a rough estimate, 6.5 tons of meat was eaten (and it’s worth noting that only part of the ditch was excavated!), i.e. at the funeral repast which was organized in honor of the owner of the pectorale an army consisting of a few thousand tribesmen gathered. In other cases it was also possible to calculate the quantity of the drunk wine: in Babyna Mohula 1,263– 1,290 liters, in Vodyana Mohyla 524 liters, in Soboleve Mohyla 332.7 liters. Archeologists think that the less was drunk and eaten, the less people took part in the construction.

25 centuries of robberies

It seems that it is graves that were protected by relatives till they were alive or roamed near there. When they left, shadows of the dead and ancient spells remained their only guard. However, the latter ones couldn’t prevent the robbery of graves in a proper way. Knowing this, ancient people often made hiding places where they put the things which they considered to be the most precious. A hiding place could be made in a wall of a tomb, in a hole which was dug in its bottom. For instance the famous gold pectorale was found in such a hiding place. Archeological excavations in the 19th–20th centuries revealed plenty of traces of robbers who 2500 years and 100 years ago and even now are greedy for Scythian gold. Probably one could write a whole treatise about the attempts to rob Scythian graves and about numerous details of this business. The history has preserved even the names of robbers who were involved in this business and even their memoirs2. The most ancient robber followed the hot scent – they, no doubt, knew well where exactly to go and what to look for. Probably at night they dug a manhole in the northern corner of a tomb and took out mainly gold. While doing this, they manually dug a hole to royal tombs which were built at the depth of 10–15 m; even with the use of modern equipment it is not that easy to do it. They stripped off the clothes of the dead which were embroidered with gold, scattering pendants and buttons from decayed captans at the bottom of a tomb and in a manhole of robbers. They stripped off gold straps from swords Finds from a burial place of a Scythian female warrior. An exhibition at the Museum of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 2006 and sacred wooden cups,

2

Actually such data have already been gathered. The section called “About the robbery of burial mounds” can be found in the mentioned above book: Мозолевский Б. Н., Полин С.В. Курганы скифского Герроса IV в. до н.э. — Киев, 2005. — С. 427— 445. (Mozolevskyi B.N., Polin S.B. The burial mounds of the Scythian Gerros of the 4th century BC).

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes emptied quivers covered with gold of decayed arrows, took adornments from dead people. Only things which were farsightedly hidden in hiding places have survived to this day: the cups from Gaimanov Mohyla, the Pectorale and the sword in a golden sheath from Tovsta Mohyla and a lot of others treasures of the Scythian time. When the vault of a grave fell, then the ground hid some part of the things, but sometimes robbers managed to get them as well.

“Lucky men” and “mound diggers” In the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century treasure hunters made a huge well just on the surface of a burial mound and if they were lucky, reached tombs and sold collectors everything to the last bronze arrow, leaving only broken bones after them. And they checked walls and the bottom with a probe in order not to miss a secret hiding place. In Stebliv burial mounds during excavations we found traces of both quadrihedral probes and bayonets from a three-line rifle. Modern mound diggers equipped with powerful excavation equipment sometimes completely demolish mounds, taking out everything that robbers of past centuries left. They check even dump and not with a primitive probe made of an old bayonet, but with a sensitive metal detector which will not miss even the smallest gold bead… Thus, for two and a half thousand years certain residents of Ukraine, contravening both earthly and heavenly laws, have been replenishing (and still replenish) their ever leaky budgets, at the same time destroying, page after page, the history of Great Scythia. Neither the ruthless Scythians guards, nor the police officers and chiefs of city police of the Russian Empire, nor the modern law enforcement bodies, nor the severity of laws A field picture of the circumstances of the find, and also the view from two sides of the golden case for the bow and arrows which was found during excavations of the Melitopol burial mound. A few such gorytos have already been found on the territory of Great Scythia A bronze bracelet, the 4th century BC, decorated with snake heads. The picture is taken before and after the restoration

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This is how a Scythian burial mound can look like now. The picture is made in the field near Boryspil

and even the scourge of gods and even the ancient spells ever managed to stop treasure hunters. However, it is worth noting that history doesn't know examples when the money received for the “grave gold” would bring fortune and flourishing to anybody, just like possessing the robbed treasures which would bring terrestrial glory. But in any case, any heaps of yellow metal and antiquities acquired in such a way, even if they are gathered by collectors and all the museums of the world, would never tell us about Scythians and Scythia even a tenth part of what we know now if there were no real archeological excavations. If seven generations of archeologists, season after season, step by step, didn’t penetrate into the secrets of the steppe pyramids and didn’t restore the history of their creator in the end. For the last decades projects which are directed to carrying out new researches of the already excavated huge Scythian royal burial mounds have been seriously considered (and realized). Archeologists assume not without grounds that the knowledge accumulated for one hundred years allows them to find, discover and see everything that their colleagues couldn’t see in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century. As they did manage, basing on the results of the excavations of the 1960s-1980s of the 20th century, to suggest a new version of the events which had led to the decay of Scythia.

The decay of Scythia Thus, Scythia in the 4th century BC is still worthy to be called Great and some of its kings, the descendants of Zeus and Borisphen, even mint their own coins of silver, they still order beautiful gold products from the best Hellene jewelers (the famous pectorale was made in this epoch), ships loaded with amphorae with Chios wine for royal banquets still come from Hellas, but the twilight of Scythia is approaching. After the failure of the expedition of Zopyrion the so-called civilized world received evidence once again that it was not that easy to conquer or destroy Scythia. True, it’s worth noting that in those years the attention of the world was attracted to other problems which were much more important for it – first of all the division of the fortune of Alexander the Great. However, what appeared to be beyond the power of foreign commanders and armies, Scythians managed to do themselves. Economic problems and political difficulties led to feuds. The Forest-steppe was hit most of all – impregnable ancient settlements and smaller settlements die everywhere in the flame of fires. The historian Thucydides was right when he wrote that no people in Europe or in Asia would be as powerful as Scythians if only they were united. However, the rulers

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The chape of a sword sheath – a bronze buterol (the 4th century BC) before and after the restoration

Gold adornments of clothes and a wooden cup from a Scythian burial place in a burial mound near Stebliv

of the steppes, having undermined the sources of their prosperity in the North, having staked on the trade with Hellene poleis which at that time had been taken under control by Macedonians, never defeated by foreign enemies, had to leave the world “stage”. The crisis was also reinforced by an extraordinary cold spell and drought which occurred in the second half of the 3rd century BC. In once quite warm Pontic area steppes a climate which is similar to present-day Western Siberia was temporarily formed; there were only two seasons there – a long winter consisting of 9–10 months and a very short summer. In that century even the Black Sea completely

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got frozen two or three times. It goes without saying that any development of nomadic cattle-breeding under such circumstances was not possible. The number of the population in the steppe decreased sharply. Part of Scythians found shelter in the North, among the survived local tribes. Near the village of Ryzhanivka, on the territory of the present-day Cherkasy region, Ukrainian and Polish archeologists excavated the grave of “the last ruler of Scythians” who had reigned over this land in those sad times. The burial place was dated to approximately 260 BC. There is gold in it, but it is not of that quality and there is less of it than in older times. There are symbols of power – the gold hryvnia, a sword with a golden hilt, a silver cup, but they are no match for the masterpieces of Tovsta Mohyla and Gaimanov Mohyla. The history of Great Scythia comes to an end. Sarmatians had nobody to conquer – when they came to the steppe in the 2nd century BC, the last Scythians would survive in different ways nearby.

Section 23

The country of Sarmatia

s far back as three and a half centuries ago Yuriy Khmelnytskyi in one of the international documents was called not only hetman, but also “the knyaz of Sarmatia”. In those times the well-born Polish gentry of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth originated from Sarmatians and learned scholars and poets in their works sometimes called Ukraine not otherwise than “Roxolania”. Sometimes they still try to link the ethnicon “Russians” with the ethnicon of one of the Sarmatian tribes – “Roxolanis”. On Roman and medieval maps the territory of our land is adorned with the inscription: “Sarmatia”. Who are they, such popular in different times Sarmatians?

A

The successors of Scythians

Sarmatian burial places in mounds which were dated to this “3rd century BC”. So, doubts concerning the textbook statements which appeared at the beginning of the 1980s of the 20th century were quite grounded. A more careful study of the finds and also a more thorough study of other

Herodotus wrote about the Sauromatai, bellicose neighbors of Scythia, mentioning that they lived to the East of Scythians. These tribes were similar to Scythians in terms of origin, culture and the way of life, but they roamed to the East of the Donthe Tanais. In those times the victors of Darius I still didn’t intend to share their lands even with their closest relatives. Romans also wrote quite a lot about Sarmatians, though they met them later than Hellenes. However, that acquaintance was equally close and lasting. It was Romans who, producing the first maps of Europe (the ones that have survived to this day) always indicated the country “Sarmatia” on them. In many books on the history of the Land we can read that “… in the 3rd century BC more bellicose Sarmatians forced out Scythians from the steppes”. Just so, “forced out”. True, archeologists never managed to show weighty “material evidence” of this “forcing The map of Europe according to the description of the Roman Pomponius Mela with indications of Scythia and Sarmatia (reconstructed by F. Nansen) out”, at least in the form of

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes circumstances of the beginning of the Sarmatian epoch led to unexpected conclusions. The recording of finds in burial mounds (and at that time thanks to grandiose new expeditions quite a lot of them had been excavated) showed that actually the decay of Scythia and the expansion of Sarmatians on the biggest part of its territory appeared to be a period of about one hundred years. To the West of the Don they didn’t find a single Sarmatian burial ground of the 3rd century BC. Although many thousand burial mounds and dozens of thousands of ancient burial places have already been excavated. It was also determined that in the 3rd century BC in the open steppe there are no traces of Scythians themselves, i.e. there are no traces of those who “were forcing out” and of those “who were being forced out” there. The study of “concomitant circumstances” and to be more exact, the natural conditions of the 3rd century BC in Pontic area steppes led to unexpected results. It turned out that at that time both Scythians and Sarmatians had a common enemy which was insidious, cruel and merciless. They couldn’t hit it with arrows or defeat it with a sword.

Glass beads. The 1st–2nd century AD

The climate greatly changed again and frosty winters forced out steppe residents from their native lands. It is thought that for about one hundred years there was quite a Siberian climate here – nine months of winter and the rest was summer. Scythians left the steppes and some of them even changed their type of economic activity. When the weather conditions became normal, new rulers came to the steppe – Sarmatians who settled down here starting from the 2nd century BC. True, they didn’t manage to occupy all the territory of the steppe. The old rulers, Scythians, held on to their lands in the Crimea tightly and Sarmatians also had to keep away from the steppe triangle between the Inhul and the Dnieper. Another group of Scythians built and held tightly almost two dozens of towns and fortresses1. “Sarmatians” is a common name which was used by Hellene and Roman historians. However, the names of a few allied tribes to which this common name was applied 1

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A bronze vessel with figures of people and animals which was found in the river Kalmius. The 1st–2nd century AD

have been preserved. Among them are Roxolanis, Iazyges, Aorsi, Alans and others. The destiny of these tribal unions was different. Some of them (for example, Roxolanis and Iazyges) disappeared in the times of the Roman Empire, other tribes lived till the Middle Ages and the descendants of Alans (Ossetes) still live in the mountains of the Caucasus. The history was formed in such a way that in different times different tribal unions dominated in the country of Sarmatia. At first Roxolanis and the Aorsi reigned and later Alans started dominating. Those who lost the fight for power had to obey. Another choice (as it had happened many times in the history of the steppes of Eurasia) was to look for a new place for living. It was good if this place was somewhere nearby. Iazyges had to move to the Hungarian plain, Roxolanis unsuccessfully tried to recapture Lower Danube from Romans. If we indicate on the map all the places which in ancient times representatives of the Sarmatian clan-tribe who were light on their feet visited, then we will see them in Europe (Hungary, Britain, France, Spain), in many countries of Asia and even in North Africa. A ceramic Sarmatian mug with a zoomorphic handle

You can find more details about the destiny of the former rulers of the steppes in the section “Three Scythias”.

Section 23. The country of Sarmatia The way and the mode of life of Sarmatians on the territory of the Land didn’t differ greatly from the way of life of their predecessors – Cimmerians and Scythians. Nomadic cattle-breeding in the steppes which finally unfroze after cold winters assured food base which was similar to the notorious “minimum income level for survival” which in all times has been quite far from real needs, to say nothing about the ideal. The military-depredatory economy which had been welltried in the Land for centuries (and also tested by time) continued to remain the natural addition to pasturing sheep and cattle. The list of its “branches” hadn’t changed either: collecting tribute (under the guise of “defense”, “protectorate”), robbery, slave trade, control over goods traffic. They could also get hired as mercenaries; many rulers needed cavalry. Some of the Hellene poleis of Nothern Pont fell under the influence of Sarmatians. For example, in Olvia they minted coins with the names of kings Farzoy and Ininthimens for decades. Gold things quite a lot of which were found in burial places of that epoch suggest that sometimes Scythians received good profit. These gold products are quite different from Scythian gold and contain numerous insertions of stone. Sarmatians especially liked turquoise (the blue on gold looks wonderful) and red stones. Some products which were made by Hellene craftsmen somewhere on the Bosporus impress with their refinement. For instance, in numerous books the fastener for a cloak in the form of a dolphin is reproduced. It is made of gold and the body of the dolphin is sharpened of rock crystal. Bracelets, torcs, numerous gold pendants for clothes were made for Sarmatians by jewelers from different countries of Asia and Europe.

A Sarmatian with a cup and a sword, next to him there is a sword from a royal burial place near the village of Porogy. The 1st century

Cast bronze points of arrows were replaced with three-edged iron ones which had bigger penetrating power. Specimens of arrows appeared to be so good that they were added to the armory by Romans who had a good understanding of weapons and military equipment. Only solid scaly armor which now covered all the body of a warrior and protected his horse could protect from such arrows. The length of the shaft of a spear amounted to 4–5 m and a warrior had to hold it with two hands. But using such a weapon he could not only tilt the enemy out of the saddle, but also act successfully against infantrymen in a high-density formation. The popularity of a long sword had also increased as it was easy to cut from the saddle. However, Sarmatians didn’t reject short swords either the pommels of which were decorated with a ring. Such a sword with a sheath decorated with gold straps and a rich sword belt was found near the village of Porogy in the Vinnytsia region. It is thought that this is a royal burial place. A man lay in a wooden sarcophagus which was placed in a tomb-catacomb. He was dressed in leather (or suede) clothes of the red color adorned with gold pendants. On the sleeve of his jacket there was a gold plate which protected his hand from the blow of the bow string when shooting. By the way, judging by its position, the dead man was left-handed. In the grave there was a bow

New “knights” of the steppes The military-depredatory economy was based on a certain military potential. Sarmatians worked on its augmenting and on improving weapons. At that moment their horsemen were probably the most powerful and trained and which is more important, rather numerous heavy cavalry in this part of Europe. Sarmatian cavalry. Detailed representations with reliefs

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A silver cup with a handle in the form of an animal from a royal burial place near the village of Porogy. The 1st century

and a birchbark quiver with arrows from which only iron points of the so-called Xiongnu-Central Asian types remained. In the corner of the catacomb there were two amphorae with wine. In the burial mound there was also a female burial place, in a pit. The woman was also buried in a suit adorned with gold pendants. Her wide trousers were embroidered with beads. On the things which had been put in the grave of this noble Sarmatian including on the silver cup there was an image of the tamga of the clan of the king of Roxolanis Ininthimens. The same tamgas were minted on coins of Olvia in the 70s–the beginning of the 80s AD. It was even assumed that the king who is buried near the village of Porogy once ruled over Sarmatians – the Aorsi who came to these lands from the steppes between the Don and the Volga. And in Northern Pont the Aorsi were

supposed to encounter Sarmatians-Roxolanis who had come here before. Tamgas-marks were also spread among the Bosporus kings who added certain motifs of the Greek mythology to them. Among Sarmatian tamgas there appear pictograms which resemble… the trident of Poseidon. It is highly likely that the trident of different contours could come to the rulers who neighbored upon Sarmatia (chiefs, knyazes, seakings) as a dowry – after the marriage of representatives of the tribal elite. Who hasn’t used symbols including the trident which were similar to tamgas in their state emblems and on battle flags for the last two thousand years! These were Kievan knyazes and Tatar khans.

To the North of Sarmatia However, the establishment of kind relations between the Northern (Slavic and others) and Sarmatian elites should be probably dated to the period of the beginning of the decay of Sarmatia, to be more exact, to the 3rd century AD when their common enemy appears – Goths. And in the epoch of their might steppe chiefs considered their Northern neighbors first of all as objects for robberies and taking prisoners who could be sold profitably later. They even divided the territory of the Northern neighbors between separate clans. It is confirmed by “boundary stones” with tamgas which were found here already in these days. One of them lay not far from the modern city of Obukhiv, just a few kilometers from the fortresses which were built by local residents for the defense from hostile raids.

Adornments from a burial place near the village of Porogy. To the left you can see the tamga of Ininthimens. The 1st century

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A boundary stone with Sarmatian tamgas which was found in the Kyiv region

Grain growing tribes of the forest-steppe and forest strip from the 3rd century BC are attributed quite confidently by a lot of researchers to the Slavic or Proto-Slavic cultures. The Zarubyntsi archeological culture the representatives of which lived in Dnieper area is the most famous2. However, there is also an opinion that it was left

by Baltic tribes and in addition, was greatly influenced by the Celtic culture. Defending themselves from Sarmatian raids, not numerous local population couldn’t use grandiose fortifications of the Scythian epoch any more which had fallen to decay and had been neglected. They built quite a lot of small fortresses the remains of which can be found even today approximately every 10—15 kilometers on the Dnieper from Kaniv (Babyna Hora) to Kyiv. The Khodosivka ancient settlement to the right of the road to Obukhiv can be seen by anybody who will pay attention to hang-gliders who take off from it. On the bank of the Dnieper there is Divych-Hora (in the outskirts of Trypillia) the peak of which once was also occupied by a Zarubyntsi fortress. Ancient settlements-shelters where in case of raids all the surrounding population could hide were built in accordance with the most advanced technologies and it seems that they even took into account the experience of the construction of Roman fortifications. A site on a high cape preferably separated from the surrounding plateau with deep ravines was chosen. Even now it is not that easy to go up to the Zarubyntsi ancient settlement. Slopes which were already steep were reinforced with escarps

An ancient settlement-fortress on Divych-Hora in the village of Trypillia of the Kyiv region

2

The culture received this name after the excavations of the burial ground near the village of Zarubyntsi on the Dnieper which were carried out by V.V. Khvoika.

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An ancient settlement of the Zarubyntsi culture near the outskirts of the village of Hrebeni on the Dnieper

tures (glumaceous wheat, barley, millet), cattle-breeding. that were supported by posts dug in at an angle. A narrow Finally fishing, hunting, forest beekeeping. People often (for one cart) road to the gate fortified with stakes was settled down in “nests”, a few people in each nest, usualtwisted along the slope in the form of a serpentine clockly along small rivers. Sometimes it is thought that such a wise, exposing the right unprotected by the shield side of system of settlement reflects the tribal system of the attackers to an arrow shower of defenders. The entrance, organization of the society. However, it is not improbable just like in the Khodosivka ancient settlement, could be that in this case we observe the movement of one group of made between ramparts, which made it possible to shoot people who moved to another place after the land had at the enemy from all sides. been exhausted. In any case, Sarmatians had to dismount for the Since the times of the Zarubyntsi culture quite a assault. And it nullified all the advantages of the cavalry lot of necropolises with the help of which we can deterof the nomads over the modestly armed (a bow with mine more than modest property of local residents have arrows, darts, probably shields, but no armor) Zarubyntsi infantrymen. In such a situation, the aggressors could only Pottery from burial places of the Zarubyntsi culture shoot at the ancient settlement from the foot of the hill and under the cover of archers assault wooden stockades. The effectiveness of such fortifications is confirmed by the fact that fortifications in the Land were built according to this scheme till the Middle Ages. And many cities of Rus in Dnieper area were actually built on the site of Zarubyntsi fortresses, sometimes even with the use of ancient fortifications. However, Sarmatians occasionally risked testing the strength of fortifications built by local tribes. It is confirmed by iron points of Sarmatian arrows which stuck in the ramparts of ancient fortified settlements the northernmost of which are situated in the outskirts of presentday Kyiv. Around a common fortified center there were a few open settlements the residents of which were engaged in economic management according to the technologies which had been developed as far back as in the times of Trypillia. Cutting grain growing with a one thousand year tested set of cul-

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Section 23. The country of Sarmatia Fibulas from burial places of the Zarubyntsi culture

survived to this day. Dead people were burnt and their ashes were hidden in a small pit. Next to a heap of ashes archeologists usually find during excavations one or sometimes a few manually made pots and a bowl with food. Even though the pottery is molded, it is made rather neatly and its surface is glazed. Among the ashes most often you can find a bronze fastener for a cloak – fibula. In these graves there is no gold, silver adornments are rare. However, the Zarubyntsi tribes never locked themselves up in fortresses. They established distant relations including with the cities and markets in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and the Dniester. However, the most powerful defense system can’t protect open settlements, especially fields and cattle from regular raids. Since even much more fortified borders of the powerful Roman Empire sometimes couldn’t hold such an enemy as Sarmatians. Part of Dnieper area residents had to seek refuge among swamps and in forests. Those who didn’t want to move to the North either died or replenished the markets of slaves in Roman common Europe. In Prykarpattia the Sarmatian territories neighbored upon the lands of Celts who in the 3rd century BC were still the rulers of a considerable part of Europe. One of the Celtic tribes settled down in Zakarpattia, having built here a few fortified cities and quite a lot of settlements. Burial grounds were also found. Thanks to excavations we have information about the activities and distant relations of this small part of the Celtic world. Celts extracted mineral resources here including iron, made quite a lot of weapons and armor which they sold their neighbors. They even minted coins some of which suspiciously resembled Hellene ones and later Roman ones. Celts were also

Weapons of Celts – a sword and points of spears, probably from the territories of Zakarpattia. The collection of the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

engaged in mutually advantageous trade including with Sarmatians. The Celtic influence can be noticed in many aspects of the material culture of the Sarmatian world and sometimes penetrates far to the East. In the same 3rd century BC the tribe of Galatians even went on a campaign to the shores of the Euxeinos Pontus and in the end even reached Asia Minor. The tribes of Getae and Dacians lived in the mountainous area (they left artifacts of the culture of Carpathian burial mounds here). It’s worth noting that in ancient times such places became more than once the last refuge of people who had been forced out from the surrounding plains by more powerful enemies –Celts and then by Romans.

The battle for Europe Sarmatians didn’t lock themselves up within the boundaries of the Pontic area steppes. Not only traders, but also rulers were aware of all the modern European politics. Sometimes trade routes turned into the routes of the movement of troops. It was too hard not to yield to temptation to take part in some clash for the redistribution of the neighboring lands and fortune. In the Mediterranean and its nearest outskirts in the 2nd century BC the star of Rome starts rising at first gradually and then swiftly. Relying on the battle-hardened and invincible legions, the mastery of diplomats and also on numerous allies, eventually Rome extended its power over the biggest part of the civilized world. The territories of the empire included the lands from Britain to Armenia and Iran, from the Rhine to the Nile. True, the laws didn’t guarantee equality to all the residents of the empire. The population of provinces was

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The Roman empire and Sarmatians of the 1st–2nd century

limited in their rights for quite a long time as compared to Roman citizens. However, eventually there appeared quite a legal and accessible possibility of receiving the desired Roman citizenship when after a number of sanguinary campaigns the state started to feel a shortage of soldiers. With some luck, in about 16-25 years of campaigns and battles you could stay alive and having retired, receive not only an honorable bronze plate with a military diploma with your name on it, but also the desired Roman citizenship, besides together with a solid land allotment, plus resettlement benefits. The powerful state (and an even more powerful military machine) required huge costs. Even the biggest plunder (which sometimes amounted to hundreds of tons of gold or silver) couldn’t cover all the expenses. Certain profit was sent to the treasure in the form of taxes which were collected in provinces. Accordingly, the state was interested in the extension and the increase of provinces and also in the growth of the turnover with rich, but distant Eastern countries. Sooner or later Romans and Sarmatians could appear to be adversaries in the fight for the territories and trade routes. At first it happened that Sarmatians supported Romans and some of their kings even visited Rome to pay

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respect to emperor Augustus. In those times Sarmatians and Romans sometimes had common enemies: Getae, Dacians and some Hellene states. Part of Sarmatian tribes supported Rome in the war against Mithradates Eupator who tried to establish his ruling in Northern Pont. Romans properly estimated diverse possibilities of their allies and from a certain moment – close neighbors. In the times of emperor Vespasianus, they in a neighborly way quartered in Danube area the whole army – four legions and created a river flotilla. When Sarmatians by force of the old habit decided to move to the right bank of the Danube, the governor of the province Moesia acted rather resolutely: he captured quite a lot of barbarians together with their wives and children (historians give a huge figure of 100,000 people), having taken sons and brothers of tribal chiefs and kings hostage. Finally Sarmatian chiefs started understanding that Rome in Pontus is a serious matter and that it was there for long. Independent Hellene cities which were under the protectorate of barbarians and proud rulers of kingdoms minted the profiles of divine emperors on coins without fail before. Rome finally did what probably Alexander the Great had dreamt of: created a network of strongholds and bases along the shore, having taken the local trade under

Section 23. The country of Sarmatia

A horseman-cataphract. A low relief from a gravestone

control and thus, controlling the economy of the nearest outskirts of the Euxeinos Pontus. The last sudden advance of iron legions (anywhere – to the East or to the North) now depended more on the whims of Roman emperors than on practical necessity. A perfect example is the Roman conquest of the state of Dacians which occupied part of the territory of present-day Romania and some other neighboring countries. While there was a civil war in Rome in which the legions from frontier provinces took part, Sarmatians felt that they were in command of the situation. They carried out raids on Roman Moesia sometimes twice a year and sometimes even remained there to rob the local population to a more considerable extent. And only an increase of the

number of Roman troops and drastic actions of the new legate, Rubrius Gallus, rescued the frontier province from complete destruction. The Roman neighborhood was not convenient either for Roxolanis or for the king of Dacia Decebalus. While Romans were getting prepared for the inevitable war, barbarians attacked first. And at first the Sarmatian cavalry fought rather successfully on the side of Dacians. The first Dacian war which lasted a few years clearly showed Romans the advantage of the heavy cavalry which had come from the Pontic area steppes. Suffice it to say that according to the results of the war with Dacians emperor Domitianus celebrated two triumphs (the triumph belonged to the commander who annihilated five thousand enemies). But in honor of the victory over Sarmatians he only dedicated a wreath to Capitoline Jupiter. So, in reality emperor Domitianus had nothing to boast about. Since it was Sarmatians who deserved the triumph in this war (if we keep to the letter of the Roman law). In some sources it is reported about their annihilation by the Roman legion (their number together with additional units could amount to more than 8 thousand people). And the terms of peace looked rather strange: on the one hand king Decebalus admitted dependence on Rome and on the other hand he started receiving a yearly subsidy which looked like tribute or compensation very much. It is thought that this way Romans just bought a peaceful breathing space, getting prepared for new wars and hoping to return everything with interest.

An image of horsemen-Roxolanis on the column of Trajan. Detailed representation

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A coin minted in honor of the victory of emperor Trajan in the war with Dacians, with an image of a column which was erected in the center of Rome

A coin minted in honor of the victory of the emperor over Sarmatians and marks-dragons which are portrayed on the column of Trajan

It’s worth noting that their hopes were completely justified: in the next Dacian war the triumph was deserved solely by Romans. Emperor Trajan managed to break the resistance of Dacians and their allies-Sarmatians, to be more exact, Roxolanis. On the column of Trajan which can be seen in the center of Rome even today there is an image of a unit of the Sarmatian cavalry dressed in typical scaly armor which is running away to save their lives from the victors-Romans. Romans celebrated their victory over Dacians and their allies almost three months. In the triumph celebrated in the year of 107, besides captive Dacians, SarmatiansRoxolanis were also taken along the streets of the Eternal City. And on one of the coins minted in honor of the victory the emperor holds in his hands a trophy Sarmatian flag – an image of the dragon, fastened to a staff. The dragon has

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no tail, probably it was torn off. Perhaps according to the plan of the author of the coin, it was supposed to symbolize the final victory. And on the column of Trajan which describes the events of that war the Sarmatian dragon still has its tail. However, it looks like that minting these coins, Romans mistook the wish for the reality, as it appeared to be much more difficult to tear off the red tails of all Sarmatian dragons in the real life. Otherwise the successor of Trajan, emperor Hadrian, wouldn’t have had to pay big amounts to Roxolanis and to provide their king Rasparagan with Roman citizenship just a dozen years later after the loud celebration, to be more precise in 117-118. Sarmatians and their allies had reasons to worry: “the Roman threat” hadn’t gone anywhere as the borders of the province Dacia lay exactly where they had been drawn by the invincible Trajan and the last “free Dacians” found shelter in the Carpathian Mountains overgrown with forests. It seemed that the Empire was winning the battle for Europe and soon there would be new victorious campaigns, but the Dacian war appeared to be the last largescale conquest of Rome on the continent. The rulers who at that time reigned on both sides of the border which had separated Europe didn’t want to admit the inviolability of the new frontiers at all.

Section 24

Three Scythias fter the events which are not known to us that took place in the 3rd century BC, Sarmatians settle down in the territories of the once great in terms of sizes (and maybe even Great) Scythia. However, Scythians managed to hold part of the territories and somewhere even to capture the lands which belonged to their neighbors. Due to the fact that among these neighbors there were also Hellenes and Romans, the latter left quite a lot of information concerning a few centuries of the existence of three “Scythias”: Transdanubial, Dnieper area and Crimean. These Scythias were not very big in terms of territory, besides they were divided by the lands which belonged to other tribes, mainly to Sarmatians. When historians of the 19th century tried to match the records of ancient geographers, travelers and military men with certain real cities and areas, it turned out that it is rather difficult to do it. And in this case thanks to the efforts of a few generations of archeologists they managed to find quite a lot of proofs which throw some additional light on the history of these last Scythias.

A

Low Danube Scythia Having defeated king Ateas, Macedonians never managed to hold the steppes of Dobrudja for long. The unsuccessful campaign of Zopyrion gave Scythians a second chance and already at the end of the 4th century they start returning to the steppes to both the banks of the Danube which they had to share with Thracians. Judging by the finds of Scythian pottery in local settlements, this neighborhood was sometimes quite peaceful. At this very moment Macedonia, to be more exact its ruler Lysimachus, asserting its rights for this land, brought garrisons into Hellene cities on the shore and at first even pressed the allied forces of Scythians, Thracians and Hellenes. However, in 281 BC Thrace gained independence. It’s worth noting that in the 3rd century BC Scythian burial places in local burial mounds just like in the Budzhak steppe, disappear for some time. Archeologists can’t find out thoroughly what exactly Scythians did in these lands. Antique historians characterize them as “Scythians- plowmen” who got swampy lands unoccupied by the local population in the lower reaches of the Danube. However, Scythians were united under the power of one or a few rulers and represented considerable (according to local standards) military might. Approximately in 200 BC in one of the Hellene inscriptions the part of Dobrudja occupied by them is already directly called “Scythia”.

The rulers of this Scythia conducted an active policy, supplementing a poor harvest from swampy lands with income from trade and “protection” of Hellene poleis. And they also quite willingly hired Hellenes as military advisers and experts. The names Germen of Antioch who served king Kanites, the Hellene Antigonus who served king Sariakes have been preserved. As far back as in the times of king Ateas, the Hellene Kallatis minted coins with the image of his Scythian patron. This tradition was continued in the years of the flourishing of Transdanubial

The coins of the rulers of Low Dnieper Scythia – kings Kanites and Sariakes. The 2nd century BC

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Scythia. Actually thanks to these coins we found out the names of six Scythian rulers: Tanusakes, Akrosakes, Kanites, Sariakes, Charaspes, Ailis. The interesting thing is that the coins of these kings were once found in the sanctuary of Achilles Pontarchus on Serpent Island. There are endless disputes among scientists concerning the genealogy and the dynastic relations of these kings and also the peculiarities of their foreign policy. Most of them recognize Kanites as the founder of the dynasty, then he is followed by Sariakes and Akrosakes. The time of their reign is estimated on average as 50 years each, which suggests complete political stability. The minting of coins of Scythian kings in this region ends on kings Charaspes and Ailis who ruled either at the end of the 2nd or at the very beginning of the 1st century BC. The king of Pontus Mithradates Eupator who was getting ready for a grandiose war with Rome could bring this modest Scythian reign on the Western shores of the Black Sea to a stop. When in the times of the Mithradates wars (to be more exact in 73 BC) Roman legions entered the Hellene cities which were located there, nobody even remembered the Transdanubial Scythians.

Dnieper Scythia As far back as in the 19th century on the banks of the Dnieper within the boundaries of the Kherson province they found the ruins of stone buildings, the remains of more than a dozen and a half ancient cities. The finds of pottery allowed dating them to the times of antiquity and assuming that these were the very cities – Azagarius (Azagarion), Amadoka, Sar, Serim, Metropol which were located by the Hellene geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus in distant Scythia, somewhere near the frontier of the world which was known to the educated Hellenes and Romans. Local residents found a use for the ruins of the ancient cities. When archeologists came here at the beginning of the 1950s of the 20th century, in the surrounding villages they saw fences of good quality which were made of the stones taken from the ruins. In some fences which were built around houses of wattle and daub covered with thatch you could see sumptuous architectural details, even huge cornices. However, excavations showed that there were still enough finds in the ground in order to determine the time of the construction, architecture and other details from the life of ancient settlements. After all that archeologists had

Dnieper Scythia. Legend: 1 – ancient settlements; 2 – the capital (?); 3 – burial mounds

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A sword which was found during excavations of the burial ground near the ancient settlement Zolota Balka

An ancient cornice which was used for fencing the village of Zolota Balka by the residents, the picture of 1949

seen, they unanimously agreed with the opinion previously expressed by scientists that it is on the Low Dnieper that the cities Azagarion, Sar, Saron, Metropol and others mentioned by Claudius Ptolemaeus were situated. Now they only argue about exactly what name one or another settlement discovered by archeologists had. The ancient settlements were situated both on the right and on the left banks of the Dnieper. Left bank fortresses controlled convenient crossings on the opposite A large earthenware pot, a molded vessel for storing food

side of considerable right bank settlements. Along the right bank the settlements stretched from the boundaries of the present-day Zaporizhia and Kherson regions to the Dnieper estuary. There, further to the north of Kherson, in Bilozerka, there is the last settlement which was once indentified with Metropol (Metropolis) of Claudius Ptolemaeus. Judging by its location, this was a seaport city, sort of an analog-competitor of Hellene Olvia. Taking into account rather accurate coordinates given by Ptolemaeus and especially the difficulty of correlating them with modern data, only finds of appropriate inscriptions among the ancient ruins can put a period to long-lasting arguments. However, the geographer didn’t indicate the most important thing: exactly who built the glorious cities Azagarion, Amadoka and others and whom they belonged to. It was possible to find it out only with the help of archeological researches. At first the excavations surprised researchers to a certain extent. Among the ruins of fortifications built of stone and equally solid farmsteads, next to antique amphorae and thin-walled pottery made with the help of the throwing wheel, they found a great number of molded vessels. Simple large earthenware pots, jugs, rough mugs, censers prevailed in the everyday life of local residents. In other words, the cities mentioned by Claudius Ptolemaeus belonged not to educated Hellenes, but to local “barbarians” who, nonetheless, had borrowed quite a lot of things from the antique civilization. The study of the molded pottery made it possible to determine the presence of Scythian, Thracian, Celtic and of course Sarmatian components. It turned out that some of the cities Molded vessels from the ancient settlement Zolota Balka

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Excavations of farmsteads in the ancient settlement Zolota Balka

appeared where different tribes had settled down before (starting from the Bronze Age) and also where some ancient markets existed. The places of the latter ones are indicated by the finds of broken amphorae – ordinary companions of the Scythian-Hellene trade. Thus, the choice of sites for construction (and the location of the new Scythian state on the whole) was far from being accidental. Most settlements consisted of a small fortified part (with the area from 1 to 3 hectares) and outskirts (from 3–5 to 35 hectares), sometimes with its own defense system. For the protection of acropolises they built quite massive walls of stone or adobe blocks (on a stone foundation) and even towers. In addition, the fortifications were reinforced with ditches and ramparts. The height of walls could amount to 3–5 m (with the thickness of up to 2–4.5 m), which was quite sufficient for repulsing raids of neighbors who didn’t have special techniques connected with a siege of cities. On wide walls they could put quite a lot of warriors, especially archers with bows and quickly move reinforcements along all the defense perimeter. Massive walls could even withstand the blows of battering rams for some time. The foundations of walls were situated on a rock, which made it impossible to use standard military ruses

The plan and the picture of excavations of ancient farmsteads in the ancient settlement Zolota Balka

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Means of weaving – a spindle whorl and a plummet for a vertical weaving loom

like a sap. The walls which surrounded the outskirts sometimes amounted to one meter in thickness and in some cases builders limited themselves only to a small rampart and a ditch. Evidently, the service of warning of raids worked well and in case of danger all the population managed to hide behind more reliable fortifications. Settlements were built with farmsteads which consisted of a dwelling and outbuildings. Such development resembles the building of Hellene cities of Pontus to a great extent. Streets the width of which varied from 1.5 to 4 meters were laid. Some of them were even paved with stones and in the Lyubymivka ancient settlement they even paved the central square. Buildings were erected mostly on stone foundations, but with the use of adobe. In some cases the walls had a wooden framework and were coated with clay. For roof-

ing they used both locally available materials (divot, rush) and tiles (those who were wealthier). They tried to make the entrance from the southern side. The presence of thresholds suggests that they had doors the width of which corresponds to the modern standards – on average 80 cm. The floor in rooms was ground, sometimes it was covered with a layer of well rammed clay. The most sumptuous floors were paved with stone. Dwelling rooms were heated with open fire on which they also cooked food. They also built dome ovens in which they could cook and bake bread. In farmsteads there were certainly rooms for storing food which were divided into different parts with big vessels dug in the ground. Here they also kept amphorae with a reserve of wine – for themselves and for sale. Judging by excavations, the residents of ancient settlements provided themselves with food to a considerable extent at the expense of growing cereal crops, cattle-breeding, hunting and fishing. Most things which are necessary in everyday life were also made on site. The traces of weaving, foundry production and smithcraft were found. The residents of ancient cities honored different gods. They found the remains of altars and beyond the boundaries of settlements they also found ashpits, whole mounds of ashes which are saturated with the traces of sacrifices. This is how Scythians managed to organize one more “Small Scythia” in the lower reaches of the Dnieper which was Ceramic products which were used during rites by the residents of ancient settlements on the Low Dnieper. The 2nd century BC

The remains of amphorae in an outbuilding of one of the farmsteads in the ancient settlement Zolota Balka

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Antique imported vessels which were found during excavations in Low Dnieper ancient settlements

A bowl of the Zarubyntsi culture which was found in the ancient settlement Zolota Balka

limited by the valley of the Dnieper in the East and by the river Inhul in the West. This triangle just like a sea was surrounded from all sides by steppes where burial mounds with numerous Sarmatian burial places were found. But they haven’t found such burial places in the Low Dnieper triangle yet. It looks like that Scythians managed somehow to get over the hard times which occurred in the 3rd century BC behind the walls of their cities and fortresses.

A fragment of the Hellene terracotta which was found in the ancient settlement Zolota Balka

1

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Dnieper Scythia had its capital. It is thought that it could be the Krasnyi Mayak ancient settlement, the biggest in terms of sizes and the strongest fortification of all that are known now. In this country there were cities, fortresses (with the total number of more than fifteen) near strategic crossings and even a port – Metropolis. Eventually Sarmatians started coming even here, but they came here as residents of ancient settlements possessing equal rights rather than as conquerors. In terms of territory, number of residents, military and economic potential, this island of former Scythia was no smaller and no worse than some kingdoms of that time. A convenient location of cities of Dnieper Scythia allowed them to play the role which had been monopolized by Hellenes before who lived in Tyre, Olvia and the Crimea in the steppe trade. Perhaps the trade didn’t flourish as much as it did in previous centuries, but it brought sufficient profit in order to get over the hard times which had come and also to live in hope of brighter future. Dnieper Scythia, just like the forest-steppe “Country of towns”1 which had already decayed by that time became quite a multinational country. At first most of its residents might be Scythians who were joined by Thracians, Hellenes, Celts and at the final stage there could be some Sarmatians. There were even representatives of the distant Northern Zarubyntsi culture here. All of them, regardless of the language and faith, were connected by the Dnieper and trade. At first this island in the Sarmatian sea was quite successful and it lived till the 2nd and in some cases till the 3rd century AD. But then it suffered two successive blows from the tribes of Sarmatians and Goths. On the ruins of a few Low Dnieper cities even some Gothic settlements appear, but this is another story. Now a considerable part of the lands of Low Dnieper Scythia is buried under the water of the manmade Kakhovka Sea. The modern owners of these lands

We are speaking about the Forest-steppe in the 8th–5th century BC, section 16: “The Country of forgotten towns”.

Section 24. Three Scythias

Crimean Scythia. Legend: 1 — the capital of the Scythian territories, Neapolis; 2 — populated places including fortified ones which were subordinated to Scythians; 3 — burial mounds; 4 — Hellene cities

use the ruins of Scythian cities as a stone quarry quite successfully now. So, as time passes by, it is getting more and more difficult to uncover the secret of the ancient cities from the banks of the Borisphen-the Dnieper which were mentioned by the great geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus almost two thousand years ago.

Crimean Scythia Perhaps the most numerous Scythian antiquities which were also studied best of all were found on the territory of the Crimea. Since in the Crimean land the interests of Stepoviks intersected (and interwove) too closely with the interests of Hellenes, Romans, much more information about these lands and the events which took place there has come to this day than about the other two Scythias. In order to survive in the condition of the Crimea (and to preserve independence) Scythians who had moved here recreated the infrastructure of steppe lands which was more usual for them, having supplemented it with some components which had been missing before. The descendants of steppe Scythians, Tauri, the residents of Asian Bosporus, Hellenes, in other words, everybody who

appeared on the territory of the steppe Crimea in these uncertain times turned out to be among the builders of the new kingdom. The choice of the city coincided with the location of the present-day capital of the peninsula – Simferopol. There was a settlement of the Tauri here before, then approximately in the middle of the 2nd century BC Scythians finally settled down here. Nonetheless, the population of Neapolis and also other “Scythian” ancient settlements of that time included quite a lot of Hellenes and even representatives of Sarmatian tribes, which is confirmed by the study of the anthropology of burial places in necropolises. It would be interesting to know what language the residents of the ancient multinational city in the center of the Crimea used. At first the settlement was growing around a small fortress. Then the fortifications were rebuilt and they covered the area of about 20 hectares. It was then that the first palace was built; however, it didn’t stand there for long, just like the city. Near 130 BC, everything was destroyed by a horrible fire. Now scientists lose themselves in conjectures who destroyed the capital of Crimean Scythia to such a great extent. Among the main contenders for incendiaries is the legendary queen of Sarmatians, Amage. In any case, the city was soon restored, but already as the royal residence in which they built a sanctuary and later

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The remains of a hearth in a dwelling of Scythian Neapolis

Excavations of the ruins of Neapolis

mausoleums for burials of the representatives of the ruling dynasty. Hellene architects were engaged for the construction of the residence. The complex appeared to be luxurious and unseen in the Crimean (and in other) steppes for that time: colonnades, porticoes, marble statues and reliefs, in other words, just like in respected and wealthy kingdoms and poleis. Of course, fortifications were built with the same diligence – stone walls and towers were erected to guard the safety of the new capital. There is an opinion that the famous king Skilurus lived in one of the palaces once; he was an active participant of disquiet Crimean events of the end of the 2nd–the beginning of the 1st century BC. Besides the capital, the subjects of the kings of Scythia also built other fortresses and settlements. Their residents were engaged in grain growing, trade, provided all the necessary things to those who by force of the old habit roamed in the Crimean steppes and foothills. Some of these settlements and cities were situated on the border of the territories of Chersonesos, others in the outskirts of Neapolis. The Western shore of the Crimea was annexed by Scythians (by right of the strongest one) together with the settlements which were situated there. In other words, they took it away from the previous rulers-Hellenes. The Northern-Western Crimea was the area where a huge amount (for that time) of grain was grown for export. So, now the Scythian rulers who had settled down in the center of the peninsula also had these resources at their disposal. The presence of their own ports now allowed the rulers of Crimean Scythia to be engaged in their own trade affairs, sometimes avoiding hostile Chersonesos and the Bosporan Kingdom. At some moment they even decided to try to remove (or to take under control) all local competitors and mediators and also to profit by the plunder which would allow replenishing the impoverished A marble low relief of Scythian Neapolis. It is thought that king Skilurus is portrayed on it. The 2nd century BC

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The troops of the Bosporan Kingdom with a battle flag. The painting in a burial vault of the necropolis of Panticapaeum. The 1st–the 2nd century

resources of Crimean Scythia. Who could assume then that all these great plans would lead in the end to the final fall of the Scythian state in Taurica? At first they attacked Chersonesos which applied great effort to repulse the attack, having asked the king of Pontus Mithradates VI Eupator to protect them. The interference of the Pontic troops headed by an experienced strategist Diophantus ended in a disaster for Scythians: their army was annihilated in a battle and a lot of fortresses, cities, settlements were burnt. The enemy even captured their capital, Neapolis, in stride, though they had spent so much money and effort on its fortifications (and finishing). For some time even a hostile garrison was deployed here. After such a defeat the Scythian kingdom never managed to recover, to say nothing about impeding the intrusion of new waves of Sarmatain tribes to the Crimean steppes. It is them who became not only the successors of Crimean Scythia, but also rather active participants of the new division of the Crimea between Bosporus, Chersonesos and Romans who came here after the fall of the Pontic kingdom. At some moment Scythians managed even to come to an agreement with Sarmatians. For some time the new kings extend their protectorate beyond the boundaries of 2

the Crimea. However, this time the flourishing was not long either. The Scythian territories in the Crimea were successfully divided between Sarmatians-Alans and the rulers of Bosporus. However, the latter, just like Rome, quite successfully used one tribe of “barbarians” against the other one in wars. Scythian fortresses and settlements on the border of the territories of Chersonesos and also on the shore which remained intact for some time fell under lightning blows of the Roman marine infantry. It happened during the Crimean raid of the Ravenna fleet which came to help the Chersonesites who had been attacked either by Scythians or by Sarmatains. These were hard times, there was war, so, Romans decided not to find out who exactly had attacked Chersonesos – either Scythians or Sarmatains. They punished everybody who they met. The capital stood the longest. The last blow was delivered at Neapolis in about 218. It is thought that the city was attacked by Alans. Excavations revealed the picture of a cruel and merciless destruction. Plenty of things and skeletons of killed people were buried in the ruins. However, the walls of fortifications and buildings still stood on the ground for some time. They could be used if not as a dwelling, then at least as good protection from wind2.

For example, it is known that in the 16th–the 18th century the ruins of Taurica Chersonesos were used in this way. This object which was useful in everyday life was in possession of one of the clans of local nomads.

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A fragment of antique vessels from the ancient settlement Zolota Balka

A fragment of plaster from the ruins of Scythian Neapolis with scratched images of horses

Nomads who drove flocks here for wintering left a lot of “autographs” on the wall plaster. Among them there are numerous images of horses and horsemen. There are pictures which can be connected with the last days of the life of the city. You can see ladders, towers, siege machines in them. But the images of Sarmatian tamgas which were left by the last visitors of the picturesque ruins of Neapolis, to be more exact Scythian Neapolis, have been preserved best of all.

Nonetheless, Sarmatians didn’t become the rulers of the Crimea for a long time either. From the distant North of Europe a new even more powerful wave of conquerors was coming and it didn’t only split Sarmatia into a few parts, but also flooded the last islands of former Scythia. This was the end of the epoch which had lasted for almost one thousand years and started in those distant-distant times when Scythians had come from “the depth of Asia”. Only their loud (and sometimes ferocious) name remained familiar to everybody and also the name of the country, Scythia, was inherited by the residents of the Land for long centuries regardless of a clan-tribe. But the other part of the Scythian heritage which had rooted itself in genes, the culture, the language and customs also became the common possession of all the successors of ancient great Scythia.

Graffiti on the walls of buildings of Scythian Neapolis with the images of warriors, a tower and a siege machine. To the left and above the tower a Sarmatian tamga is portrayed

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Section 25

Roman eagles over the Northern Pontus arth banks in Danube area, even in the West of present-day Ukraine, are still called by the local residents as Trajan’s, after the name of one of the greatest emperors of Rome. True, the great emperor himself didn’t cross the present borders of the Land, nonetheless, Romans (and their successors) in olden times fortified their position on the Northern shore of the Black Sea in a serious way and for a long time. Flags-marks of Roman legions were crowned with an eagle – sometimes with its wings folded and sometimes with its wings unfolded. For a few centuries almost half Europe was conquered under these eagles. From the mouth of the Rhine to the mouth of the Danube by the forces of conquered and united Roman Europe a real “iron curtain” was erected; it was meant to protect the imperial territories from the raids of “barbarians”. On rivers and on the sea flotillas were on duty; they were ready to intercept, if necessary, the hostile landing party or to come to rescue garrisons in distant fortresses at the first call. In citadels which were built in once independent Hellene cities, on forbidding rocks of the Crimea legionaries and the troops of additional units fortified their position. They watched barbarians (and the local residents) and were always ready to set out at the first call of the Roman homeland. Many of them found eternal peace in this land and their names were brought to this day with the help of half-erased inscriptions on stone gravestones.

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Invaders or rescuers? You can interpret the fact that Roman garrisons appeared in Pontus in a different way. The judgments vary from emotional ones (“Roman invasion”) to more diplomatic and weighed ones (“Roman presence”). Perhaps both of them took place – depending on the circumstances and the course of events. Everything started with the

removal of the main competitor of Rome in Pontus – the ruler of the Pontic kingdom Mithradates Eupator. In the battles with the Roman legions neither detachments of Scythians and Sarmatians nor the support of the residents of the cities of Bosporus (they were grateful to the king for the protection from barbarians-Scythians) helped him. Eventually the Crimea turned into a rear base of Mithradates with all the consequences which arise from

The Roman presence in Northern-Western Pontic area. The deployment of the main garrisons. The 1st-the 3rd century

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A helmet of a Roman legionary and a cheek piece. Similar parts were found in the Taurian sanctuary on Hurzuf Sidlo. The 1st-the 2nd century

the failures of the king of Pontus in endless wars with Rome: increased collection of taxes and a revolt of the population which was reduced to despair, dynastic discords and mutinies. As a result, Rome, as it has happened before more than once, became a conqueror for some people and a benefactor for other people. Of course, it was a benefactor for those who took its side in time. There was even such a title – “a friend of Caesar and a friend of Romans” which was conferred on behalf of “the senate and the Roman people”. There were royal insignia for this title: as a token of complete recognition and mutual understanding on the part of Rome. The city community could be rewarded with the right of self-government and for those who asked with special persistence, it could even send a small garrison and accommodate it in a citadel which had been rebuilt for

such an occasion. However, it was not about requests, but about how strategically important this place was for the policy of Rome at a certain moment. Once Roman troops were sent to the Crimea during the suppression of a mutiny which had been raised by the Bosporus king Mithradates III (VIII). Having gained a victory on land, they were coming back to the place of their dislocation, but the squadron ran into a fierce gale. A few ships were thrown to the shore, the crew and soldiers were killed (and robbed) by the Tauri. Part of the plunder was found by archeologists during excavations of a sanctuary in the mountains over Hurzuf. It consisted of Roman weapons, military equipage of soldiers and coins of the middle of the 1st century BC. Part of the weapons and probably prisoners were sacrificed. However, Romans came to the aid of Chersonesos in time when it was besieged by Scythians once again. It seems that the situation was not simple if the campaign was headed by Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus himself, the legate of the province Moesia. His feats in the Crimea are described in a short way in the epitaph: “the king of Scythians was driven off from besieged Chersonesos which was situated beyond the Borisphen”. It is thought that the legate didn’t limit himself to just “driving off the king of Scythians”, but destroyed the settlements on his territories, especially fortified ones, near the seashore to a considerable extent. It is these battle operations that are linked by researchers to fires in a few ancient settlements.

Pieces of armament of the Roman army – points of spears and a shield boss. The first centuries AD

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Section 25. Roman eagles over the Northern Pontus to join the anti-Roman coalition which was being formed near the boundaries of the empire on the Rhine and the Danube. For almost one hundred years even not numerous Roman garrisons could guarantee the protection from hostile raids to the residents of Tyre, Olvia and Chersonesos. Neighbors-barbarians were well-informed about who could meet them near the city walls and didn’t hurry to test the strength of the Roman defense. It's another matter when more distant and more resolute tribes came to the walls. At first Romans successfully repulsed such attacks. When in 214 AD Tyre was destroyed by the troops of the tribe of the Carpi, all the same they had to go away. And only a number of “Scythian wars”, when the enemy A Roman battle ship, bireme. Modern reconstruction was clearly more powerful and which is more important, much more numerous, led to the retreat of Romans from all cities but Taurica. Soon after the end of the war in Dacia, in the 20s of the 2nd century in Chersonesos a detachment which consisted of the soldiers from the 1st Italian legion (the 2nd Lucensian cohort) was deployed. This cohort was formed The trace of the presence during the stay of the legion in distant Iberia (present-day Spain) and called after the name of one of the local tribes, In Tyre, Olvia, Chersonesos and other places archeLucenses. Such a unit could number (depending on the type ologists quite successfully studied the islands of “the of formation) from 500–800 to one thousand and more warRoman military presence” with all their standard attribriors. Soon a military tribune was sent to Chersonesos; the utes: fortifications, temples, barracks, rooms for the comRoman troops in Taurica were under his operational command, depots, toilets for soldiers, the sewerage system, mand. We even know the name of this commander, Lucius the water supply system and of course, bathhouses. Julius Makasenus. It was read on a fragment of a stone altar Since units which were accommodated in different which was found on the territory of the port area of places were rather small, they couldn’t assure the protecChersonesos. Lucius Julius was substituted by Julius tion of the whole perimeter of the walls. In addition, their Valens, the tribune of the I Italian legion, in this capacity. In main task was not to protect these cities, but to control different times servicemen from different legions and additheir population and the outskirts. If it was necessary, they tional units were sent to serve in Taurica. could call reinforcements from the province Moesia. As For legionaries who were sent to the Crimea this warm region could look like a rather nice corner (compared to the fort in the middle reach of the Rhine or a watchtower on the wall of Antoninus in the mountain of Scotland). Descent stone buildings with a tiled roof looked much more secure and comfortable than wooden barracks. When it became disquieted on the Danube border, the ships of Moesian squadrons which assured the safety of floating near the shores of the Crimea were based in the harbor of Chersonesos. In such a situation, the presence of bases of the Roman army and fleet deep in the Sarmatian rear influenced a lot of local The excavations of buildings at the intersection of streets in the Roman citadel of Chersonesos chiefs in a certain way who were ready

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The remains of fortifications in the port area of Chersonesos

the successful experience of the expedition of Tiberius Plautius Silvanus showed, ships with marine infantry1 could reach the shores of the Crimea in about 10—11 days. The main thing was to stand till their coming and the best way to do this is to concentrate the troops in a small, but well-protected citadel. The Roman citadel in Chersonesos was at first rather small – only 45×92 m and attached to the old city wall. Then it was extended on the territory which had been occupied by the city cemetery before. The A stone ball with marks which was found in the citadel of Chersonesos

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The marine infantry on the ships of the Roman fleet was meant not for landing, but mostly for sea battles in which Romans preferred boarding battles. However, in case of necessity, these infantrymen could as well act on land effectively.

Section 25. Roman eagles over the Northern Pontus

The plan of the Roman citadel of Chersonesos and the excavations of the remains of thermae – the garrison bathhouse

gravestones of local Hellenes (which had been put as far back as in the 4th–the 3rd century BC) were used in the masonry of walls with the purpose of saving. The main task of the citadel was to protect the port, since the local strategy of Romans was connected with the sea. The citadel divided with streets which intersected at the right angle was densely built with stone buildings. The walls inside buildings were plastered and even painted. Quite a lot of fragments of tiles which covered the roofs of these buildings were found. Each barrack could belong to a century which, as a rule, numbered 80 men. Chersonesos barracks with their six or eight

rooms suggest either a greater density of the accommodation of the military personnel or units with fewer people. In the citadel they also found a heavy stone projectile for a big catapult (even the marking was preserved!) which was aimed at the harbor once. On the high, rocky cape AiTodor the traces of the Roman fortress Charax were found. Powerful stone walls and barracks were built here. We even know the name of one of the commandants of the fortification which was read on a part of a stone altar: Marcus Heminaeus Fortis. The fortress became an important point of surveillance over the shore and the movement of ships. Since it was possible to move troops to distant places of the Crimean shore only by sea, such a base was very important for assuring the Roman presence in the Crimea.

The modern reconstruction of legion XI of Claudius and a shield with the emblem of this subunit

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What can “LE XI CL” mean? Quite a lot of details of the stay of Romans on the Northern shores of the Pontus have been received solely thanks to the found inscriptions. They are preserved on ancient gravestones, fragments of altars, statue bases and even on fragments of tiles which covered the roofs of Roman barracks. It is not easy to read such inscriptions: saving effort (after all, this is stone) and/or space on the mark, Romans developed a whole system of abbreviations of names, titles, military ranks, the names of units and others. Only people who developed this system can easily understand A pile of tiles among the remains of a building in the citadel of Chersonesos it and now almost every interpretation of the ancient Roman inscription or mark (especialmeans Le(gio) XI Cl(audia), i.e. nothing else but legion ly if it has survived to this day in the form of fragments) XI of Claudius. turns into a real puzzle or even into heated discussions Sometimes they encounter more difficult abbreviabetween experts which last for many years. tions like VEMI. It is read in the following way: V(exillaFor instance, let’s take the marks on tiles which were tio) E(xercitus) M(oesiae) found in the places of the dislocation of the subunits of the I(nferioris), i.e. a vexillatio Roman army in Pontus. In ancient times they had a pracof the troops of Lower tice of putting such marks on such products – of course, Moesia. Private, so to say, with the indication of the legion which organized the promanufacturers could also duction of construction materials. Thus, the mark with the take part in the provision of inscription LEG V MAC means nothing else but Leg(io) the necessary facilities for V Mac(edonica), i.e. legion V of Macedon, and LE XI CL the troops. For example, OPUS NOV Opus Nov(ii) and OPUS PUBLIC. It means nothing else but “produced by Novius” and “produced by Publius”. The find of such marks is evidence of the presence of the subunit A gravestone of a serviceman from a Roman subunit which was situated on the territory of Balaklava. The inscription says: “To Gods Maes. Julius Valens, the cavalryman of the ala of Atectorigianus, from the turma of Celsus, lived 40 years. Julius Valens, the paymaster, to the one who deserved it in an appropriate way, erected”

Fragments of the tiles with the marks of military subunits from Chersonesos and Charax. The 1st-the 2nd century AD

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Section 25. Roman eagles over the Northern Pontus The gravestone of Marcus Maecilius, the warrior from cohort I of the Bracari. It was found in Chersonesos

which was indicated in the abbreviation in a certain place. We can find out about the military personnel and the destiny of separate warriors from the Roman garrison in Chersonesos thanks to ancient dedicatory inscriptions and gravestones. Among the legionaries who were sent to the Crimea we can name the bugler of legion XI of Claudius Aurelius Silvianus, Gaius Julius Valens, the soldier of Sygambrian cohort I, the centurions of legion XI of Claudius Antonius Proculus and of Italian legion I Marcus Ratinus, Antonius Proclus, the centurion of legion XI of Claudius. Roman retired servicemen also found eternal peace in the Crimean land. Among the

The coin of legion V of Macedon the subunits of which were deployed in the province Moesia and in Northern Pontic area

people who were buried near the walls of Chersonesos there is the veteran of the Moesian fleet of Flavius, Auludisenus and also Aurelius Demasus who lived till nothing more or less than 72. In Balaklava which is situated not far from Chersonesos, the Roman troops including the cavalry, the ala of Atectorigianus, were accommodated. Such a subunit usually numbered up to 500 horsemen. We know about its presence there thanks to the find of the gravestone of the cavalryman Julius Valens. The soldiers of Italian legion I also stayed there, which is confirmed by the find of the pedestal of the statue of Hercules with dedication to Augustus Antoninus Pius and also to the emperor Marcus Aurelius by the military tribune of Italian legion I Antonius Valens with the help of the centurion Novius Ulpianus. Researchers think that it took place approximately in 147–161. The statue wasn’t erected in the open air – next to it they found another plate the inscription on which informs us of the restoration of the temple of Jupiter Dolichenus – Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the deity which the Roman servicemen revered in a special way. When Romans went away, the temple decayed. And the remains of its marble columns were probably used in the Middle Ages for making projectiles for a catapult which was placed over the entrance to the Balaklava harbor.

Free Europe against united Europe

Excavations of the remains of a temple which was built by Roman servicemen in Balaklava. The 2nd century AD

After the victory over Dacians the center of Rome was adorned with a new forum in the middle of which a column with the scenes of the victorious war was erected. The great and powerful state gradually fenced itself off from Sarmatians and other tribes like the Marcomanni and the Quadi, in other words, from the rest of Europe with a secure limes – a perfect, well thought-out system of frontier fortifications and fortresses. They were occupied by

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A Roman map with the indications of Sarmatia and neighboring countries

garrisons which consisted of legions, cohorts and centuries hardened in endless wars. Cavalry subunits patrolled along the borders on land, the harbor was guarded by battle ships – biremes and liburnians which were ready at the first order to set out to any place of the shore to land the marine infantry there. Possessing enormous human and material resources, the Empire could equip its borders with the necessary facilities with such a scope which is still very impressive. Since the traces of these fortifications haven’t been obliterated even for two thousand years. For instance, in 142 AD the north of Britain was crossed by “Hadrian’s Wall”. It was a real stone wall, with the length of 128 km, which was built by three legions. It was A buterol, the end of a sheath of a Roman sword. It was found during excavations on the territory of Tyre

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calculated that they had used two million cubic meters of stone and ground only for the wall itself. In front of the wall they dug a wide ditch and a road was laid along it. Fortified camps and watchtowers were built and garrisons which protected the sacred and inviolable borders of the empire were deployed. The volume of ground which was moved under the supervision of Roman engineers along such rivers of Europe as the Rhine and the Danube was as much as ten times. The limes with the length of thousands of kilometers divided the continent into united Europe (under the wise leadership of Rome) and free Europe (free from the wise leadership of Roman kings, unpredictability of politicians who replaced one another at the whim of the Praetorian Guard or provincial legions). Under the cover of the limes and legions in united Europe there were flourishing and wealthy cities, good roads, the common law, the common currency – the denarius with the profile of the divine Caesar. On the other side of the iron curtain there was free Europe: dozens of tribes who plowed land or roamed in different directions, under the power of plenty of chiefs and kings. They are free, but they look at flourishing and inaccessible imperial lands with envy.

Section 25. Roman eagles over the Northern Pontus A statue of a Roman commander, probably a legate, the 2nd century. It was found on the bank of a Dniester estuary near the city of Tyre (BilhorodDnistrovskyi)

These “barbarians” even had their own point of view (of course, it was completely different from the views of the citizens of Rome and the emperors) on the essence and the concrete content of the Roman foreign policy of that epoch. One of the chiefs of barbarians worded his own vision of the Roman policy in the following way: “To abduct, to kill, to rob is called governance in their [Romans’] lying language and when everything is turned into a desert, then they will call it peace…” It was said after the part of free Europe which was situated near the Roman territories felt the benefits of the Roman civilization in various aspects. It seemed that finally order (Roman) and quiet started dominating. But, as always, this was not for long.

“The Battle on the Ice” of the Danube More than one thousand years till the legendary battle on the ice of Chudskoye Lake, a similar (and equally successful battle) was organized by Roman legions for the heavy Sarmatian cavalry on the Danube which had got frozen so opportunely. It happened in the cold winter of 173–174. The heavily-armed cavalry slipped on the ice and couldn’t break the formation of infantrymen. The legionaries, having thrown iron-bound shields under their feet for better stability, grasped at the straps of hostile horses, threw off mailed adversaries on the ice and finished them off with their short swords quite successfully. Some time before this event the Sarmatian tribe Iazyges had come to Central Europe – the present-day Hungarian plain where it roamed near the borders of the Empire. Less than half a century after the Dacian wars Sarmatians joined the anti-Roman alliance which consisted of 58 tribes and played quite a considerable role in it together with the Marcomanni and the Quadi. Either the Roman intelligence missed the approaching aggression or the emperor was not informed in time and even if he was

A sword from a Sarmatian burial place

informed, then the command on the bank of the Tiber clearly didn’t take this threat seriously. When the limes which seemed so impregnable was broken in many places, the troops of barbarians managed to reach Northern Italy, having captured a huge number of people. The best commanders of the empire including Marcus Vindex, the commander of the guard, died in battles. In 169 Sarmatians-Iazyges attacked the province Dacia. The governor of the province Marcus Claudius Fronto died in a battle with them; he was followed by the governor of the province Moesia Silvius Calpurnius Agricola. But Rome remained on its feet, having proved to the world once again that (still) it could lose a battle, but the war – never. Combat operations lasted even till 175 when the emperor Marcus Aurelius managed to conclude peace with the leader of Sarmatians-Iazyges Zanticos. It happened right after the victory on the Danube ice. The grateful Senate and the Roman people awarded the emperor with the honorary title “Sarmaticus”, i.e. Sarmatian. According to the agreement, Iazyges returned 100,000(!) prisoners who had been captured on the Roman territory. They even undertook to withdraw the troops from the limes for as far as 15 km. Moreover, Sarmatians agreed to provide Rome with 8,000 horsemen as additional forces. On the occasion of the victory they minted coins on which again among the portrayed trophies there was a Sarmatian flag-dragon. This time Romans managed to defeat the numerous enemies again, though with huge casualties. Some politicians together with victorious commanders were seriously planning to establish a new Objects from Sarmatian burial places which were found on the Hungarian plain

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Roman legionaries. An image on the column of Trajan. The 2nd century

province called “Sarmatia” in steppes Near Danube in the nearest future. However, neither the companions in arms nor even the successors of Marcus Aurelius ever managed to realize these daring state projects. But on the other hand, one of the new initiatives of the emperor probably had the most incredible (and the most serious) consequences for all the further history (and especially the culture) of Europe, especially of Britain. The Roman emperor-philosopher, being unaware of it, appeared near the sources of probably the biggest legend of the European knighthood of the Middle Ages. However, its coauthors unintentionally also met Sarmatians-Iazyges defeated by Marcus Aurelius, a multi-thousand detachment, who were sent to the distant Island covered with fog on the order of the emperor. Coins in honor of the victory of the emperor Marcus Aurelius over Sarmatians. A flag-mark with the head of a dragon is portrayed among the trophies

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The path of the dragon or Sarmatians in Britain n Britain which is distant from Ukrainian steppes there is a rather good demand for plastic sets of images of warriors of ancient times. Among them, besides widely known Roman legionaries or Celtic warriors, there are images which portray… Sarmatian warriors. These are horsemen in heavy armor, horse archers, infantrymen, a commander with a long sword and a flag carrier with a mark which is topped with an image of a dragon with a long red tail. By the way, for now Sarmatians are the only representatives of the ancient history of the Eastern European lands who were included into this plastic world created for small Britons. In the instruction to the set it is even indicated: Sarmatian (South Ukrainian), i.e. Sarmatians from the South of Ukraine(!). Judging by the number of appropriate sites and especially by the quality of their contents, you can make a conclusion that now local residents know (and which is more important, want to know) much more information about Sarmatians than the modern residents of the Pontic steppes where Sarmatians and their descendants roamed for a few centuries. Moreover, they left (at least quite a lot of people think so) quite a noticeable trace which has been connected with lots of legends for more than one thousand years1. With great legends!

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Sending a Roman horseman on a mission Despite the defeat, Sarmatians still remained rather formidable power in the region, the power which even Romans had to take into account. Having estimated the Sarmatian cavalry in a proper way, they, having taken the opportunity, placed whole subunits at their service. The service to Rome attracted yesterday’s “barbarians”, first of all, with an opportunity to become rightful citizens of “united Europe” after its end. In addition, to become more or less wealthy citizens who have quite a lot of money and also a land allotment. The fee of a warrior of additional units in the 2nd century AD amounted to 100 denars per year, without taking into account “bonus-

es” on the occasion of a victory, the assumption of power by a new emperor and of course, rightful military plunder including in the form of slaves who could be sold profitably. In 181 AD the emperor Commodus, the successor of Marcus Aurelius, the victor of Sarmatians, sent Lucius Artorius Castus to Britain2, having appointed him the prefect

The location of frontier fortifications and Roman settlements in Britain which are connected with the history of the Sarmatian contingent

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It turns out that both in Russia and in Ukraine few people, except for separate experts, knew about the fact of the stay of Sarmatians in Britain. In this respect we think that the significant thing about it is the tone and especially the contents of discussions on Russian speaking forums after the appearance in 2004 of the historical action film “King Arthur” which was shot in the USA. Meanwhile, quite a lot of truly scientific works, mostly in English, have been dedicated to the stay of Sarmatians in Britain only for the last 30 years, to say nothing about popular literature. More details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Artorius_Castus

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes The warriors of the sixth Victorious legion. Modern reconstruction. In the left top corner there is a helmet of a Roman cavalryman, the 2nd century AD

of the sixth legion. Researchers think that the career of the horseman3 Lucius in the Roman army which had been started as far back as in Gallic legion III, went up abruptly exactly after the war with Sarmatians on the Danube. So, it is quite possible that it is Lucius Artorius who as the first centurion headed the legionaries during that very battle with the Sarmatian cavalry on the slippery Danube ice. Since he was sent to the Danube from Asia approximately in 170 AD. So, Lucius Artorius Castus had enough time to get acquainted with both Sarmatians and their military art. He also had experience of fighting with Parthian cataphracts whose tactics and weapons were similar to Sarmatian ones. The sixth Victorious legion, Legio VI Victrix, was under the direct command of Lucius Artorius Castus in Britain. In the times of the Empire, additional troops which, as a rule, were recruited among “barbarians” were, of course, attached to the legion. The sixth legion also had such subunits. Cavalry units, especially Sarmatians from the tribe of Iazyges, a heavy cavalry, which hadn’t been seen in Britain before, were the most distinguishing among them. This subunit was redeployed from Pannonia (the territory of present-day Hungary) for the fight against the raids of Picts by the emperor Marcus Aurelius as far back as in 175 AD. The sources inform that there were 5,500 horsemen. Probably this was the biggest part of that very eight thousand contingent of Sarmatian horsemen who had been provided by the king of Iazyges Zanticos to the commanders of the Empire in accordance with the peace treaty. The efficiency of Romans connected with maneuvering reserves is very impressive! The interesting thing is that for a few decades in a row the song about the feats of the sixth legion “in honor of the

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Emperor and Rome” has been extremely popular in archeological expeditions. Generations of archeologists change, but the song doesn’t disappear and the sixth legion hardened by the burning sun in the sands of Palestine and in the water of the Euphrates keeps marching. It would be interesting to know if many of those who performed or listen to it were aware of the Sarmatian horsemen whose dragon in the mountains of distant Scotland once accompanied “the eagle of the sixth legion” which “was always yearning to fly to the sky” in battles. However, on the red flag of the sixth Victorious legion which was topped with a golden eagle there was an image of a powerful bull. The thing is that the mentioned above song is not about the sixth Victorious legion, but about the sixth Iron legion. By the way, Lucius Artorius Castus managed to serve the emperor and the Roman people in two sixth legions in turn. Maybe some day another song about the green valleys of Britain, the wild mountains of Scotland which Roman legionaries visited together with warriors-Sarmatians will be written. However, there are all the grounds to think that it will not happen till this story from the glorious military history of the sixth Victorious legion is widely known…

A fragment of a tile with a mark of the sixth Victorious legion (LEG VI VIC) which was found on the territory of Scotland

We are speaking about the belonging of the citizens of Rome to a certain estate, to be more exact about an eques, the class which was next after senators and not about a serviceman who rode astride.

Section 26. The path of the dragon or Sarmatians in Britain A metal part and the modern reconstruction of the flag with the dragon

Under the flag with the red dragon The Sarmatian cavalry in Britain had the status of an additional subunit that’s why, of course, it didn’t have the legion mark topped with the eagle. The mark-flag of Sarmatian warriors was adorned with a dragon with a long red tail. Flags in the form of dragons have been known in Europe since the times of Dacian wars, at least a few such marks are portrayed on the column of Trajan (mostly as Roman trophies). The dragon fastened to a staff consists of two parts: a metal head (with the length of up to 30 cm) and an attached long tail which is made in the form of a prolate cone of the fabric of the red color. This tail resembles a device which is still used in airfields to determine the direction and the force of wind. During a battle such a tail indicated the direction of wind for horse archers in the same way, facilitating the aiming. Such flags with dragons are widely known in the East to as far as China from where they probably originated. Since under the conditions of frontier wars and small clashes which at that time were conducted in the mountains of Scotland it was impossible to use 5,500 horsemen in one place, they had to form smaller subunits, alas, which amounted to 500 fighters each. Such

detachments were deployed by Roman commanders along the border. That’s why the traces of Sarmatian subunits in Britain were found in a few places at the same time.

The Sarmatian trace in Britain At first Sarmatians were accommodated in Bremetennacum or in Bregomion (present-day Ribchester near Lancaster), in a big strong point of the Roman troops. By the way, the medieval name of this place is Riblecaster which is translated as “a Roman fort (a fortified camp) on the river Rible”. In its turn, Bremetennacum is translated approximately as “a settlement of veterans on a hill”. In Ribchester itself they have excavated the remains of a Roman settlement – its fortifications, residential buildings and even a bathhouse which are now available for tourists. The presence of Sarmatians here is confirmed by a few inscriptions of the Roman time which are dated to the 3rd century. They were found during excavations. In these inscriptions even the names of Sarmatian cavalry subunits and the names of their commanders are mentioned! For instance, a fragment of a gravestone with an inscription: D M ... DECVRIO AL SARMATARVM — “to the spirits of the deceased… a decurio of the Sarmatian Ala…”4. Unfortunately, the names of the deceased haven’t been preserved... But the name of another officer of the

Ruins of the Mitra temple near the Hadrian’s Wall and ruins of a Roman Fort (Vercovicium) in the north of Britain. The 1st-the 4th century

4

The inscription RIB (Roman inscriptions in Britain) 595; a decurio is an officer who commanded a troop of ten men, the commander of “a wing”, a subunit of 32 horsemen who belonged to Ala Primae Sarmatarum — the First Sarmatian Ala.

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A plate with the image of a dragon carrierflag carrier which was found in the Roman garrison cemetery in Chester, Britain

Sarmatian ala, Julius Maximus, which was carved on another gravestone of the 3rd century has been preserved. On the altar in honor of Apollo5 we can find the name of another commander, this time of the subunit SARM BREMETENN GORDIANI — Aelius Antonius. Either Sarmatians preferred Roman names or their commanders were appointed solely from the imperial legions or only names remained after Sarmatians till the 3rd century. However, only one name has survived to this day and a lot of researchers consider it to be quite Sarmatian, Elegarb. This warrior dedicated an altar to the god of war Mars and a fragment of the altar was found again in Ribchester6. In the fortification in Chester which is situated 60 miles from Ribchester during excavations they found a fragment of armor which protected a horse and also beads which were typical of Sarmatian burial places in Europe including on the territory of Hungary. In Chester they also found spurs which belonged to a Sarmatian cataphract. They also found there a funeral stele with an image of a Sarmatian horse dragon — flag carrier. Now it is preserved in the local museum. This was not an ordinary warrior, but a flag carrier of the Sarmatian ala, probably of that very Ala Primae Sarmatarum which was mentioned in the Roman list of military units. Since he is portrayed with a mark which is topped

with a dragon! In Notitia Dignitatum7 there are also mentions about a Sarmatian detachment which was accommodated in the fortification called Morby.

Two centuries in the battles for the Empire The military service consisted in the protection of the Northern frontiers of the empire from the raids of bellicose Picts.There is no doubt that Sarmatian subunits coped with their task well as the local tribes, even the brave highlanders, couldn’t resist the Sarmatian cavalry in

Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman frontier fortifications in the north of Britain. These frontiers of the Empire were protected by the Sarmatian cavalry

5 6 7

The inscription RIB 583; dated to 241. The inscription RIB 584. The list of “Sarmatian places” in Great Britain can be found in the book written by a famous archeologist T. Sulimirski (Sulimirski T. The Sarmatians. — New York: McGraw-Hill., 1970) which has been translated into Russian: Т. Сулимирский

Сaрмaты. — Москва, 2007. — C. 158—161.

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Section 26. The path of the dragon or Sarmatians in Britain A coin in honor of the emperor Commodus who received the honorable title “German” and “Sarmatian” from the senate

lages. A curious tourist can try to read an inscription in Latin which can still be seen on ancient plates. Only part of the epitaph is preserved: “…Lucius Artorius Castus, the prefect of the sixth Victorious Legion… the dux of legions and cohorts of the cavalry from Britain against [the residents] of Armorica…” According to the Roman laws, after the end of the term of the service, former nomads who probably had learnt Latin by that time settled down in the lands of Britain. The military camp-castrum Bremetennacum partially turned into a settlement of veterans including Sarmatians some time later. As far back as at the beginning of the 5th century in Notitia Dignitarum, probably the most detailed list of the Roman military units, among the units which were accommodated in Britain they mention Cuneus Sarmatarum, an additional cavalry subunit, which protected the Northern borders. It was under the command of a Roman military leader who bore the sonorous title of the Dux Britannia. So, even two and a half centuries after their appearance on the Island the descendants of the natives of distant steppes still preserved certain ethnical identity.

an open fight. It seemed to be omnipresent, which was especially important when protecting the frontiers. During 183–185 AD Roman legionaries together with Sarmatians protected Hadrian's Wall in Caledonia under the command of Lucius Artorius Castus. All Roman Britain was behind them. They fought so successfully that the emperor Commodus (as the supreme commander) added the honorary title “British” to the ones which had been received before in honor of the victories of the Roman weapons. On the occasion of this event appropriate coins with the profile of the emperor-victor were minted. In 185 AD Lucius Artorius Castus who received the next military rank of the dux was recalled in order to head the suppression of some mutiny on the continent in Armorica. He went there in the lead of cavalry subunits (probably even from the units of loyal and battle-hardened horsemen-Sarmatians). Later, in reward for the previous service, he was appointed the prosecutor of Liburnia, the Roman territory which occupied part of present-day Croatia. This is where Pages from the manuscript Notitia Dignitatum with the list of archeologists once found two fragments of a Roman fortresses and subunits which were accommodated in Britain, the beginning of the 5th century gravestone of the Roman general. Now they are part of a church fence in one of the seaside vilMost likely the glorious flag with the red dragon was also preserved as the military tradition is a sacred matter. Images which resemble a dragon can also be seen in the code Notitia Dignitarum on the flags of two cavalry units which were accommodated on the territory of Roman Britain at that time. And it is not surprising as similar flags belonged to additional cavalry units of the Empire from the Euxeinos Pontus to the Columns of Hercules. Probably not only the flag-dragon and the tribal A fragment of the gravestone of Lucius name were preserved carefully from generation to genArtorius Castus with the description of eration. It is thought that the name of the first comhis way of living. The 2nd century

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes mander who led the Sarmatian cavalry to a fight as far back as in the times of Commodus could also be preserved. The thing is that according to the old Roman custom, when the defeated barbarians joined the military service, they took the names of their victors (the emperor or the commander). Unutterable Sarmatian or German names would be a jawbreaker for Roman officers. And the service regulations didn’t allow calling subordinates “chinks”. Then the names of their parents which were now quite Roman were passed on to children from one generation to another. There is an even more incredible assumption. According to it, the name of the glorious commander might as well eventually turn into… the military rank of the leader of the cavalry subunit of heavily armed horsemen. In other words, the word combination dux Artorius could mean the rank of the leader of the Sarmatian cavalry in Britain, just like they called the rulers of the Roman Empire Caesars. It’s worth noting that already at the times of the quite real dux Artorius in the Sarmatian folklore there was a heroic character that was widely known in the Caucasus and in Pontic steppes of that epoch about whom, no doubt, veterans told their new companions in arms. True, they didn’t preserve either the name of this epic hero of Sarmatians, Batraz, or the names of his companions in arms, the Narts, as they were too alien for their ears and understanding. But probably they liked and remembered the story of a righteous warrior who started fighting with Evil with a magic sword in his hand and in the lead of a detachment of invincible horsemen. Perhaps most of all they remembered the story about the extraordinary sword of the hero which was thrown into a lake after his death. And the dux Artorius who leads his invincible cavalry to a fight under the flag with the red dragon? Such a character certainly had to be included into the local newly created Roman-British folklore. When the Roman Empire collapsed and each of its parts started their own and independent life (the Roman troops were withdrawn from the Island at the beginning of the 5th century, on the eve of decisive battles with barbarians on the continent), among the residents of Britain there were also descendants of Sarmatian horsemen.

back as in the times of Cimmerians).There was no metal armor which could cover a horseman and his horse. And the Roman cavalry differed from the Sarmatian one to a considerable extent in terms of weapons and combat outfit. The first horsemen in armor which was similar to a knight’s one and with a long sword (the worship to which turned into a cult) who appeared in the British Isles could really originate from the Eastern European steppes. During the 5th–the 6th century Britain entered an age of internal conflicts and intrusions from outside. “The Roman order” which had been maintained for centuries decayed. The sixth Victorious legion was recalled as far back as in 402 and soon there were no Roman troops left in Britain at all. Thousands, dozens of thousands of residents of cities, residents of cozy villas, luxurious mansions and former military camps of the Empire were left to the mercy of fate. No interests of the Roman citizens could matter when the power of Rome was at stake. It happened that the local residents could hope only for some miracle. Everybody had to survive in this chaos, both the descendants of the Brits and the Picts and the descendants of Roman veterans including Sarmatian veterans. Let’s try to imagine how things could develop in such a situation which can be rightfully called a crisis. Probably a council of Roman veterans (and maybe somebody from the retired commanders who were respected and authoritative among the community) which gathered in the hour of danger in one of the forts decided to revive the legendary subunit of the heavily armed horsemen under the flag with the red dragon. Then they took out armor from their old chests or made new one for people and horses, took old long Sarmatian swords from walls and made new ones on their model.

The warriors of Sarmatia and the knights of the Round Table So, what does the legendary king Arthur have to do with it? It is not improbable that he is directly relevant to it. Both the king and his legendary sword, Excalibur. Before the appearance of the heavy Sarmatian cavalry, there was no cavalry in Britain and proud Brits were mainly infantrymen, their chiefs went to a fight by chariots (for the last time similar military equipment was used in the Land almost one thousand years before that, as far

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Warriors under the flag-dragon in the battle with Normans, the 11th century. An image on the tapestry from Baja

Section 26. The path of the dragon or Sarmatians in Britain century – dux bellorum. Well, and the name… We’ve already mentioned the tradition of the transfer of names among “the new Romans” that’s why there is nothing strange that the name Artorius, even in some transformed variant (Arthur), could live till the sixth century. The new army quite successfully repulsed the raids of Saxons who intruded to the territory of the country along river flows. And there is one more thing: the distance between the places of battles was rather long that’s why only the cavalry could cover it for a short time. However, three more places of victories are settlements which are connected with the places of The reconstruction of the Roman fort Bremetennacum (near present-day Ribchester, Britain) where the Sarmatian cavalry was accommodated the accommodation of the Roman cavalry that were mentioned in the code Notitia Dignitatum. We can even say that the trace of By the way, in the burial places of that time they “Sarmatian veterans” in these events can be noticed quite found quite few weapons and pieces of armor, evidently clearly. they were much more necessary for the alive. Of course, the banner with the red dragon was also found (or made again). It’s worth pointing out that such flags-marks lived in Britain till the 11th century: as far back as in 1066 the The weapon of the Hero dragon fluttered above the army of king Harald in the battle of Hastings. True, this dragon never helped to win the Only a small trait was missing in order to revive the battle with Wilhelm the Conquerar. Strange as it may old legend of Britain, some appropriate symbol. A sword, seem, but even on some miniatures in medieval manua thing which is quite important not only for servicemen, scripts the glorious king Arthur leads but also for all the ordinary Roman-British people, might knights (who are in armor that is dated to as well be such a symbol. And this was supposed to be not approximately the 14th century) to a fight an ordinary, but a magic sword which was given on behalf of the Highest Powers. under the mark-dragon and not with the flag For centuries in the ancient tradition of Indowhich was usually used at that time! European peoples there was a custom of a ritual burial In the same way in the sixth century of weapons (including swords) at the bottom of sacred flag carriers-dragon carriers were in the basins including lakes. Such a lake was usually under lead of subunits of the army of the Eastern the authority of a priestess who in special cases had the Roman Empire, Byzantine. Probably the right to take the blade from the water for a warriorappearance of the flag with the dragon in hero. But there was a compulsory condition: it was the battlefield was supposed to symbolize necessary to bring it back after the completion of the attack of “the invincible and legthe mission (or after death). It’s worth noting that endary” Roman army which went to a the weapons which were found in European lakes fight and gained victory from the Euphrates and swamps in the second half of the 19th centuto the Danube and the Thames… It is understood that the appearance of such a ry and are dated to the 3rd—the 4th century has subunit couldn’t but produce an impression been preserved perfectly! So, such a priestess on the potential enemy since at that time not who is known from the legend as “the Lady only in Europe, but also in Africa and in Asia of the Lake” might as well in the time they knew quite well who fights (and regularly which was hard for Britain take from the gains victory) under the flag-dragon. Perhaps the chief of the newly formed army Swords which were found in Sarmatian took the military rank of the dux which was approburial places in Ukraine. Probably the priate for his status. It is notable that one of the legendary sword of King Arthur, Excalibur, could be similar to one of them chronicles mentions the title of Arthur in the sixth

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes sacred basin an old Sarmatian blade which had been made three hundred years before somewhere in the mountains of the Caucasus or in Pontic steppes and then give it to the leader of the revived Sarmatian (and now British) cavalry, the dux Artorius. Now let’s speak about the name of the sword. Besides the well known name “Excalibur” in the chronicles you can also see its more ancient name “Caliburnus”. Sometimes it is derived from the Latin word chalybs, i.e. steel. And the Latin word chalybs, in its turn, is linked to the word Kalybes, the name of a tribe who lived in the Caucasus, the legendary smiths. To be more exact, Sarmatian smiths. However, another interpretation links the name of the legendary sword to the Welsh deity of thunder and lightning Beli, with the root bhel (with the meaning “lightning, flash”). British researchers naturally write about the existence from time immemorial of the local prototype of the magic sword called Caledvwich, in the Irish version Caladbolg.

The birth of the legend

thing is that the list of the mythical prototypes of King Arthur is finished with the hero of the Caucasian epos Batraz. Now many people think that among the components of the legend about King Arthur there is a contribution of the natives of distant steppes. One of the components is the memories of the invincible horsemen in scale armor who headed by the prefect and then by the dux Artorius protected Roman Britain under the flag with the red dragon for three years. These memories merged in a fanciful way with more ancient legends which were told by these warriors near a campfire. The legends about the detachment of invincible horsemen and the magic sword of their leader and of course, with new stories which were made by the grandchildren of their great grandchildren. These were the stories about how the warriors of the dux Artorius, though no, already of King Arthur, defeated Saxons and other enemies, won numerous sanguinary battles and saved Britain. These stories later embraced ancient Celtic deities, the heroes of the local epos and even some of quite real historical characters as rightful participants (of course, also in a transformed form). Probably this is how the legend about the glorious king Arthur, “the king of Britain from here to eternity”, the valiant knights of the Round Table was born in ancient times. The legend which was born combined everything in a fanciful way: myths, epos and also old stories, both real and fictional ones9.

Taking into account the mentioned above facts and considerations, it’s worth stating that there is certain probability that former Roman veterans, the descendants of the warriors who were born either in Sarmatia — from Danube to Dnieper — went down in British legends in ancient times. The dux Arthur won ten battles one after another and rescued Britain. This is how the history of knighthood, the Round Table and the glorious king Arthur started. These legends embraced quite a lot of different historical characters including purely local, British ones. Their list8 made by modern researchers numbers seven historical characters that lived and acted in Britain in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth centuries! However, this honorable list is topped with the dux Lucius Artorius Castus who was sent by the emperor Commodus “… to Britain and to the legend” as one of the modern The remains of Roman frontier fortifications and the road in the north of Britain researchers said. The interesting

8 9

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http://www.britannia.com/history/arthur/kaking.html and also www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/acpbibs/hisarth.htm. More details: Littleton C.S., Malcor L.A. From Scythia to Camelot; Malcor L.A. Lucius Artorius Castus // The Heroic Age, Issue 1, 1999. http://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/1/hatoc.htm Robert Vermaat R. The Draco, the Late Roman military standard //http://www.fectio.org.uk/articles/articles.htm

Section 27

The country of the sword he events of that epoch went down in history under the name “The Great Migration of peoples”. Our Land (almost within its modern boundaries!), perhaps for the first time in its multi-millennium history, turned out to be united by the force of weapons for more than one hundred years. The new state was sometimes called “The country of the sword” by its founders and contemporaries. This epoch is also interesting due to the fact that the events which took place more than one and a half millenniums ago are directly connected with many peoples who are now the main political players on the continent. However, as far back as fifteen centuries ago ancient authors, each of them in their own way, “on order” started rewriting the history of those events in which their great grandfathers, grandfathers and even parents had taken an active part. Probably this tradition is still alive. It turned out that archeology can not only find material traces of many well-known achievements and events from the written history, but also quite a lot of details which contemporaries considered inessential or worthy of oblivion rather than eternal memory. Thanks to continuing excavations the historical canvas of that epoch is updated rather intensively and sometimes in a quite unexpected way.

T

The political map of the Land of that time looked rather heterogeneous. In the cities over the Euxeinos Pontus – in Tyras, Olvia, Chersonesos and in some other cities there were still not numerous Roman garrisons. Legionaries and auxiliary units having established themselves behind rather reliable and as they thought, almost impregnable for barbarians “Trajan's Walls” and in frontier forts, protected the borders of the empire on the Danube. On the Bosporus, having established themselves behind impregnable fortress walls, the best friends of the Roman people and the next caesar ruled. Separate Hellene cities enjoyed self-government which had been granted to them by Rome. Among the ruins of most Scythian cities Sarmatians already pastured flocks of sheep, though in some places behind the fortress walls there were still the last islands of life of the former rulers of the steppe. In the North the descendants of the tribes of the Zarubyntsi culture and their not numerous neighbors, having abandoned their fortresses-ancient settlements, decided that it was better to go to the forests and swamps which were impassable for enemies. Sarmatian tribal alliances the most powerful of which for that moment was an Alanian one were the sole rulers of the steppe and the forest-steppe. The chiefs of the latter decided where it was better to go on a campaign – to the Crimea, Transcaucasia or to try their luck under the walls of Tyras, Olvia or even behind the Danube in wealthy Roman provinces.

From Gotiskandza to Scythia And meanwhile, far to the north a great campaign was prepared and started. Like a stone which rolls from a

The great campaign “from Gotiskandza to Scythia”

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes mountain, it not only caused a real avalanche of migrations, sanguinary wars, but also gave rise to numerous legends which were included into the epos of many European peoples. The legend and also the story which was written by a representative of the people of Goths (who once lived on “the island Skandza”) says that this campaign started with the crossing over the sea by ships. Mysterious Skandza which is now called Scandinavia is not an island at all, but did many people know about it as far back as two thousand years ago? The ancestral home of Goths is situated in Southern Sweden where there is a historical region called Götaland (with the river Göta älv and the city Gothenburg). The glorious king called Berig brought a flotilla to the mouth of the river Vistula (today it has the same name). The excavations on the shore of the Baltic Sea showed that it had taken place almost two thousand years ago, at the beginning of the 1st century AD. The migrants settled down on the continent, having called the found homeland “Gotiskandza”. The archeological culture of the migrants is called by archeologists as “Wielbark” and the rough molded pots which are typical of it became markers of the Gothic campaigns in Europe. When even in this country there appeared to be too many people, the second stage of the campaign – the great campaign “from Gotiskandza to Scythia” started. The route on this stage was laid on land. The history hasn’t preserved the names of geographers whose works were used by Gothic kings when developing it, but the route was laid correctly and more importantly, they chose an appropriate moment. This was not just a military campaign – all the Gothic people together with all their treasures loaded on numerous carts went on it. On the border of “Scythian lands”, in the area called “Oyum”, the participants of the campaign divided into two groups. It is thought that this place should be searched for somewhere in Polissya, especially taking into account the fact that they really found the traces of the stay of Goths there, the traces of their settlements and even treasures. Some researchers call the Dnieper the river which divided the natives of Gotiskandza into two groups1. At first Goths had to come back from Polissya to the sea where they went along the Southern Bug. Probably the choice of the route was not accidental since the amber route which connected the shores of the 1

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Baltic Sea and the warm Southern seas had lain along the Southern Bug since ancient times. The Dnieper also played quite an important role in the history of Goths and actually became a legendary river for this people. Since it is thought that the capital of the most powerful Gothic king Ermaarich (Hermaarich) was situated on its banks. This city was called Danprastadir (or Dampstadir). In ancient sagas there is even an “exact” location of the city: in “the land Arheim” (the latter can be translated as “river area”). As an additional reference point the sagas also mention “the forest Myrkvid”, however, it is not very helpful in searches either. Unfortunately, the address is not the most precise. That’s why you shouldn’t be surprised that Danprastadir hasn’t been found yet. However, the ideas of where this city should be searched for have been expressed more than once. Among these cities they called Kyiv, the island Khortytsia and even Kamianka ancient settlement (lower than modern Zaporizhia). However, in Kyiv only the finds of the treasures of Roman coins and other things can be dated to the 3rd century and in the Kamianka ancient settlement no traces of a Gothic city have been found for now. There are also few finds which can be linked to the stay of Goths on Khortytsia. True, they found some traces in a few ancient settlements of Dnieper Scythia, but neither of them can’t be seriously claimed to be the wealthy capital city Danprastadir of the great king Ermaarich in terms of sizes and wealth. Lately, on the basis of the data of archeological excavations, it has been suggested that Goths settled down in Olvia for some time when the Roman garrison went away from it. This probably the biggest antique city on the territory which was controlled by

Molded vessels of Goths

As for the 3rd century experts consider it appropriate to use the ethnicons “Greuthungi” (translated as “steppe” or “sand people” and “Tervingi” (“forest people”). Starting with the 4th century in the writing tradition they are replaced by ethnicons Ostrogoths (“brilliant Goths”) and Visigoths (“noble Goths”). The names “Ostgoths” and “Westgoths” which can be found in modern historical works and also in fiction are artificial because they were put into practice by German historians and actually they replaced real fixed ethnicons.

Section 27. The country of the sword Goths even strengthened their position. Their kings estimated the advantages of a heavy cavalry in an appropriate manner, added subunits from Sarmatian tribes to their army and later even adopted the art of conducting a horse battle from the nomads. True, the Gothic heavy cavalry rejected the use of bows, which, in the opinion of experienced adversaries (Romans and later Byzantines), didn’t do them good. The famous Byzantine commander Belisarius (who, by the way, gained a victory over the Gothic armies more than once) thought that the only The excavation of a service pit in a settlement of the Chernyakhiv culture – a village of Goths in Middle Dnieper area. The 4th century drawback of the Gothic cavalry which impeded it to become really invincible was the absence of an appropriate fireGoths might as well be used as the capital of the new state. power preparation before an attack. And even the name Danprastadir has something in common with another rather well-known name of this settlement – “the city of Borysthenites”. The representatives of Gothic tribes, the Greuthungi On the lands of the Gothic kingdom and the Tervingi, started their life in “the Scythian land” with a victorious war against the tribe of the Spali (probSometimes you may get the impression that the life ably Slavs who, according to some researchers, were repof Goths in the new lands was quite peaceful and safe. resented by the Zubrytsk archeological culture). Despite Their settlements sometimes stretched for many kilomethe expectations of Goths, it turned out that there were no ters along the Southern slopes of gullies. These slopes Scythians in the Pontic region steppes; however, they were heated by the sun well and were hidden not only encountered the most powerful in this part of the world from the wind, but also from strangers' Sarmatian cavalry. Nonetheless, Goths who had only eyes. Dwellings were infantry at that time were not taken aback and even overcame it at first, as they think, thanks to the tactics developed by them. When the enemy appeared, they built a circle of carts and defended themselves under the protection of this improvised fortress. Though the invasion of Goths along the valley of the Southern Bug divided the Sarmatian lands into two halves, the invaders had to come to some agreement with local residents all the same. Thanks to a political compromise with part of the Sarmatian elite (it is The reconstruction of dwellings of assumed that it was done with the the Chernyakhiv culture on the basis help of marital unions) of excavations in the settlement Kamianka-Anchekrak (according to B.V. Mahomedov). The 4th century

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes the surface thanks to piles of clay, just like the settlements of the Trypillian culture. It was not that bad to spend a winter under such a ground roof and besides, it was fire-proof. Rooms were heated with open fire. A few families could live in “long buildings” at the same time and they could also have utility rooms there. This type of buildings was brought by Goths from their Northern ancestral home. In the settlements you can also find dugouts including the ones with stone stoves which resemble dwellings that are typical of Slavic settlements. No big city of the Gothic kingdom The remains of a burnt building the walls of which were clayed. The ancient settlement Bashmachka, the 4th century has been found yet. Only three fortresses which were built by Goths themselves are known. These are Olexandrivka (on the Inhul), built of local materials. In the forest-steppe these were Bashmachka (on the Dnieper) and Horodok on the Southern wood and clay. Frame buildings with clayed walls could Bug. They are relatively small – from 40×60 (Bashmachka) be covered with reed, thatch and divot. If you burn such a building, a pile of burnt clay with to 190×190 (Olexandrivka) and Horodok 500×150 meters. the impressions of poles and posts remains from it. That’s The location of the latter one was chosen on the intersection why it is easy to find the remains of such settlements on of water and land routes in such a good way that fortifications were built here even in the Middle Ages – first by Lithuanians and then by Tatars. In addition, the newcomers settled down in a few “Scythian” ancient settlements in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. There was a moment when Goths inhabited the territory of Olvia (after the retreat of the Roman garrison) and even established themselves behind the walls of Tyras, having attached their dwellings to them. The fortress in Olexandrivka which was built not far from an old crossing was also situated on the route that led from the Danube to the Taurica. Fortifications were built on a cape which was washed by water from three sides. The territory from all sides was surrounded with a rampart and stone walls with towers and The plan of the Chernyakhiv fortress Horodok on the river Inhul (according to B.V. Mahomedov). The 4th century

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Section 27. The country of the sword

Excavations of the remains of a dwelling-half dugout in the ancient settlement Bashmachka. The 4th century

late Scythian time, the only thing is that it looks less solid. Probably the builders of Bashmachka got acquainted with the local experience of building fortifications, observing the ruins which were situated not very far from them or invited somebody from the natives for the position of an architect. Such a fortification resembles a castle rather than a city. It was not meant for the siege of a hostile army, it was more intended for repulsing a short-term and sudden raid or an attack of a neighboring clan. It looked like that the builders of the castle relied more on their swords and spears than on the stone walls. The biggest building inside the fortifications, a type of a half dugout, had a size of 5×8 m. It is not enough for

there was a ditch on the isthmus. Escarps made slopes even steeper. The territory of the fortifications was built with fourteen rows of long (40-50 m each) facilities which resembled barracks. These buildings could accommodate more than one thousand warriors. Not far from the gate which was fortified with a round tower there was a small square on which they could trade and if necessary, they could form the garrison there. The ancient settlement near the village of Bashmachka was a center of a rather big settlement (with the area of up to 10 hectares) which stretched along the gully for almost one kilometer2. The fortification occupied the edge of the cape the height of which over the valley amounted to 11 m. From the floor side they dug a ditch with the width of up to 5 m the slopes of which were laid with stone. At first this “obstacle line” was supplemented with wooden stakes. Then it was replaced with a wall. Its foundation with the width of up to 3 m and the height of 0.8 m was laid with stone and filled with ground from inside. The upper part of the wall was most likely built of adobe blocks. In the wall there were chamberscages in which they arranged a room for the guard and on top they built a parapet of logs. The fortification was burnt, that’s why only coals and ashes remained from its wooden constructions. On the whole, such a construction resembles the fortifications of Lower Dnieper ancient settlements of the The plan and the view of excavations of fortifications of the ancient settlement Bashmachka. The 4th century 2

The result of multi-year excavations of this settlement and also of the surrounding burial grounds is published in the monograph:

А. Т. Смиленко Городище Башмачка III—IV в. н. э. — К., 1992 (A.T. Smylenko The ancient settlement Bashmachka of the 3rd-

the 4th century AD).

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The remains of stone structures of fortifications of the ancient settlement Bashmachka. The 4th century

a royal palace. It is thought that the ancient settlement Bashmachka could be a tribal center as it was built in the middle of a rather big settlement which was also situated in the center of Dnieper Nadporizhia. On the territory of the Land Goths received access to a huge area of fertile ground including chernozem. In order to work the land, they had to use iron points for arable instruments. Unlike their neighbors-Slavs, Goths liked to

establish settlements not in the high-water bed, but in a plain, in gullies, in other words, nearer to fertile grain fields. For the effective crop gathering from big areas and the preparation of forage for cattle for winter they needed iron sickles and scythes which were found during excavations. They grew cereal crops among which millet prevailed, but they also grew emmer wheat, barley and rye. The love for millet can be explained by the fact that this crop is unpretentious, drought-resistant, grows well in the areas which were cleared of the forest and you can sow it instead of the crops of wheat which were destroyed by frost. In fact, millet is convenient when you don’t know what to expect from the mother nature in a new place and you always need to eat something. Almost for the first time, quite far to the North, new devices for milling grain into flour, mill-stones, got spread. They replaced burrs which had worked slowly but reliably at farmsteads of the Lands since the Trypillian time. The demand for the technical innovation was so high that some enterprising businessmen organized the production of mill-stones of effusive rock, tuff, which was found in the Vinnytsia region. The local workshops supplied products to both the Dniester and the Dnieper. In order to receive cereals, they used wooden mortars which were sometimes equipped with a foot drive. The type of domestic animals was usual for Europe – cows, bulls, pigs and sheep. Keeping the cattle in stables allowed them to have milk and meat all year long. They even started breeding chickens at their farmsteads, which is confirmed by the finds of the remains of poultry stones and even egg shells in burial places. Goths achieved such success in animal breeding in the Land that later they even managed to organize the export of cattle and products (first of all leather) to “united Europe”. Being busy with all these farming and other activities, Goths almost had no time to go hunting – the bones of wild animals in the settlements amount only to from 3.5 to 6.6%. It is also possible that this activity turned into a privilege of the elite who had more spare time.

The customs of the Country of the sword

An iron cultivator point. The 3rd-the 4th century AD

3

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We managed to know quite a lot of things about the newcomers thanks to the study of ancient burial places. In fact, one of the burial grounds which was excavated one hundred years ago in the Kyiv region gave the name to the Chernyakhiv archeological culture and Goths formed its main framework3. Most dead people were buried in shallow pits and up to one third of burials constitute cremation. There are also burial places under mounds, with

Now on the whole territory of the spreading of the Chernyakhiv culture more than 300 burial grounds are known and more than 7,000 burial places have been excavated.

Section 27. The country of the sword

Excavations of a burial ground in the village of Chernyakhiv of the Kyiv province. The picture by V.V. Khvoika

wooden tombs, in other words, every tribe had their own customs. The most interesting thing in these burial places is stock. It can be vessels, simple adornments, sometimes weapons. There are burial places of the elite which can be identified with the help of gold and silver adornments and luxurious weapons adorned with gold and bright stones. Some of them are even called “knyaz’s”. It was extremely necessary to put different things in the grave in order to fulfill the appropriate orders of Odin, the chief god of the Northern peoples. Since in those times each Goth knew that Odin had ordered to go to Valhalla after death (the Gothic analog of specialized heaven for warriors): “…with the things he had with him on the fire” because “…the more things would be burnt with him, the higher would be the one who is burnt and he will be richer there”. In addition, in the other world a man could also use the things “…which he dug in the ground himself”. This category might as well embrace treasures including coin ones. All these instructions were learnt by Goths well, listening to ancient stories-sagas. So, now we can imagine in a rather well-grounded way what the outfit of a representative of a Gothic clantribe could look like in ancient times. Goths knew how to make fabric. They found not only the remains of fabric in burial places, but also parts of weaving looms, first of all, weights which were used to strain threads on a wooden frame. Threads for fabric were made of vegetable fibers or wool. Wealthier people could afford exquisite imported fabric. They even found the remains of gold cloth. Outer garments could be made of leather or fur the remains of which were found on metal parts of costumes or on fasteners of cloaks. These metal fasteners-fibulas were the most important part of clothes. Actually they resemble a usual safety

pin, only a little augmented in size and sometimes with a rather exquisite form. It is with the help of its form, material, place on the clothes that at that time an experienced man could unmistakably determine not only the status of its owner, but also the tribe and the clan to which he belonged. Fasteners were worn on shoulders, one or two

A burial place-cremation of the Chernyakhiv culture and a bowl in which the ashes were buried. The 4th century AD

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Excavations of burial places of the Chernyakhiv culture. To the right there are bronze fibulas which were found in the remains of cremation

fasteners for each shoulder. The cases when one fibula fastened a cloak on a shoulder and the other one on a body side are also known. The heads of women were covered with a cape or a kerchief, sometimes with a complex fastener. They put on leather boots from which quite a lot of metal clasps situated on belts remained. With their help they tightened the tops of boots. We can also trace the penetration of the “Western” fashion which was expressed, but not limited to, in adorning the hem of dresses with embroidery of beads. On a leather belt they wore a gaman, a knife. The military equipage was adorned with different clasps which were made of silver by A comb of the Chernyakhiv culture which is made of iron. The 4th century AD

Bronze clasps which were found in burial places of the Chernyakhiv culture. The 4th century AD

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A fastener-fibula with the traces of incrustation with colored enamels. The Kyiv culture. The end of the 3rd–the beginning of the 4th century AD

wealthy warriors and of gold by chiefs. The costume was supplemented with beads and bracelets. They preferred products with the use of stones, especially cornelian, and also imported glass necklaces and Roman coins. Pendants of the sun stone, amber, were also popular. In addition, both men and women wore different amulets. This could be an animal tooth (say, a fang of a wolf or a fox), a small bronze product, for example, “the axe of Thor”. A comb was an important part of the things which people always needed to have with them. According to the tradition the parts which were used to make this thing were cut out from a deer horn. A complex construction which consisted of more than ten parts was fastened with bronze clinches. These products were often adorned with a simple ornament. They also found

Section 27. The country of the sword Combs of the Chernyakhiv culture which were made of a deer horn

combs which are made of an iron plate. Judging by the presence of a hole for clinches, they were supposed to be adorned with a piece cut out from a bone or a horn. It is thought that combs were not only necessary as adornments, but also had some magical properties. Moreover, it can be confirmed by small pendantsamulets in the form of combs and also their image on ceramic vessels.

owners at once. One of such centers was researched in the area of Uman. It consisted of open sites with bloomery furnaces which were installed near a ravine. For some reason, the form of this place resembles bee cells, only instead of honey there is iron there. In the middle of each of these sites ancient craftsmen arranged a whole “battery” which consisted of bloomery furnaces situated closely to one another and loaded with a mixture of iron ore and wood charcoal. When a group of bloomery furnaces were put into operation by setting coal on fire, the process continued further at the expense of natural draft. This technology should be recognized as energy-efficient: the location of bloomery furnaces situated closely to one another allowed them to quite effectively accumulate heat and to maintain rather high temperature. From every site you could receive a few tons of iron for one cycle. In fact, all such bloomery furnaces were meant to be used only once. It was impossible to use them for the second time and it wasn’t that necessary: there was plenty of space around there. Eighteen centuries ago no problems connected with land allotments were observed in the Land. In the outskirts of the city Uman they found the traces of iron working almost in 20 settlements of that time. A question arises: why did Goths need so much iron? In fact, it is not that difficult to answer this question. It is hardly possible to use so much metal in everyday life: how many sickles, cultivator points, knives and finally nails does an ordinary grain grower need? A noble Goth at his farmstead will need a little more, but all the same we are not speaking about tons of metal. Besides, farming

Launch pads for Gothic campaigns Certain production centers connected with iron extraction remained from the epoch of the settlement of Goths on the territory of the Land. The scope of this activity and the number of the received products are impressive. We can evaluate these ancient metallurgical enterprises from different perspectives. On the one hand they are proofs of technical and technological achievements, but on the other hand they are portents of a big war. Such centers connected with the production of iron were organized, as a rule, far from settlements (in any case, this was rather harmful production) that’s why most often it is quite difficult to determine their

Excavations of a “battery” of bloomery furnaces for the production of iron in the area of Uman

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes Silver spurs of a Gothic horseman which were found in a burial place on the territory of the Ternopil region

Points of spears. The 3rd-the 4th century

which was reinforced in the center with a plateboss. The formation of the infantry could bristle with spears and shower the attacking enemy with darts and arrows. Of course at first Gothic detachments could hardly be compared with well-drilled legions, but experience is a great thing. Having conquered or voluntarily added the local tribes to their chiefdom-kingdom and also having made enough weapons and battle outfits, Goths turned their eyes on the wealthy lands of Roman frontier provinces. It’s worth noting that the idea formulated by the Gothic rulers concerning the improvement of the life even today (at the expense of wealthier and more successful neighbors) met with a generous response and received wholehearted support from the population of the Land. Sarmatians, Scythians, Slavs and even the residents of some Hellene cities of the Crimea took part in the following campaigns.

instruments are not meant to be used only once, but can be used for quite a long time. Defense industry is another matter. In those times a good warrior needed a good sword, a spear (preferably more than one), an axe, a shield boss, a dagger and clasps for the battle outfit. All in all about ten kilos of iron will be necessary. If you add the parts of a horse harness, the parts of carts, then the equipage of an army for a campaign requires the use of more than one dozen of such “batteries” consisting of dozens of bloomery furnaces. By the way, the finds of centers which were similar to Uman ones served as a good indication of the stages and the route of the campaign “from Gotiskandza to Scythia”. They as if inform modern historians: attention, somebody got prepared for a big war here in quite a serious way! Iron products which were once made in the valley of the Vistula, in Gotiskandza were found on the territory of the Land. The analysis of the metal showed it. Probably analyzing ancient swords and spears which were found somewhere in the Balkans, in the places of ancient sanguinary battles of Goths with Romans, researchers unexpectedly found the metal which had been received in the bloomery furnaces in the area of Uman. Gothic smiths knew how to make all the mentioned above range of weapons. Their swords, at first short on the model of a gladius, were eventually replaced with longer ones which could be used by cavalrymen (again on the model of a Roman sword-spatha). A warrior The remains of a richly adorned sword and sheath which belonged to a noble was covered with a big shield Goth. A find from Kerch, the Crimea

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Section 28

The times of Boz aving prepared the necessary number of new swords, spears and other weapons, the Gothic rulers of the Land decided that the time had come to try the strength of the borders of the Roman Empire. At the beginning they managed to go round the impregnable limes in some cases and even to get over it in some parts. However, it turned out once again that it was not that easy to win a war against Romans. Those emperors who didn’t die in the battles with barbarians, as a rule, always received another honorary title “Gothic” or “Sarmatian”. When finally peace came, then it is these several decades that turned out to be truly “golden” both for Rome and their neighbors-barbarians. However, the mechanism of the great migration of peoples had already been activated and it was stopped only a few centuries later. For this time quite a lot of tribes and peoples walked across the territory of the Land. In the works of the witnesses of that epoch there are quite a lot of family names and other names, however, archeologists and historians will argue for long to whom the found antiquities belonged. It is in these “dark centuries” lighted up with the glow of endless wars that the beginning of the history of the Slavic peoples is hidden.

H

“Scythian” wars In historical works which were written one and a half or two thousand years ago, the name “Scythians” was attributed to almost all the tribes who lived on the vast territories from the Vistula and Lower Danube to the Caspian Sea. Some historians had no time to look into the genealogy of barbarians, others strived to “steal” not only the name of Scythians, but also their reverberating fame (of course, for greater fame of their own people). So, uneasy events which took place approximately between 238 and 270 AD went down in history as “Scythian wars” forever. In 238 AD the united troops headed by Goths plundered and burnt the city of Istria, having devastated the surrounding lands of the province Moesia. The governor Tullius Menophilus decided that it was better to pay off part of barbarians, Goths. After that the latter by themselves placated their alliesCarpi who never received the Roman silver that time. In other words, this was the classical example of the use of the principle “divide and rule” as a practical matter. The first successes of the new “Gothic weapons” produced quite a strong impression on Romans and they decided to use their strength against their own ene-

mies. A few subunits were recruited to the imperial service. Some of them as part of the army of the emperor Gordianus even managed to take part in the war in distant Persia in 242 AD. As allies of Rome Gothic detachments not only protected the borders of the empire, but also took part in wars in Egypt and Persia and in the lands of Hellas. Burdened with plunder and fee for the loyal service the troops came back home in the halo of glory. Ten years passed and for some reason Romans “forgot” to pay, after which Goths made a raid on the lands of Moesia and Thrace. A huge army of barbarians (they mention the figure of almost 300,000 warriors) went as far as

“Scythian” wars of 248—270. Legend: 1 — years of campaigns; 2 — the names of the provinces of the Roman Empire; 3 — the place of the decisive battle in 269

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A coin of the emperor Decius who died in a battle with Goths in 251 AD

Marcianopolis. The significant thing is that even Roman legionaries who had been dismissed from service for the participation in a mutiny before joined it. Thanks to it Goths not only got acquainted with the tactics of Romans, but also received military experts who were capable of organizing a siege of fortresses. Thus, barbarians got a new chance in their fight with Rome. In 250 Goths decoyed a Roman army which was pursuing them thoughtlessly into a swamp and smashed it completely. One year later the emperor Decius and his son were killed in another battle and the remains of the legions which were invincible only yesterday and which survived by a miracle proclaimed the commander who had saved them from complete annihilation their new Augustus. In memory of the military victories Goths and their allies sometimes took parts of captured flags of Roman subunits. One of such trophies, a part of a mark in the form of a hand was found on the territory of the present-day Ternopil region. Other trophies were also brought by Goths to their native villages from plunder campaigns in the Roman lands. Only a small part of them have survived to this day. It is mainly the least precious part, i.e. the one which didn’t include precious metals. Among such “souvenirs” there is a bronze inkpot, parts of a horse harness, metal vessels and bronze statuettes of Roman deities, rings and even a handle from a bronze cauldron. They also took bronze coins which were not in circulation beyond the boundaries of cities and villages of the empire. Besides, the biggest treasures are not measured with a certain number of denarii, but with the total weight which amounted to more than one or two kilos. When Goths reached the seaside cities, especially Bosporus, the era of naval campaigns started. Now they didn’t have to assault the limes on the Danube. Having landed troops successfully, they could appear in the deep rear where there were no accommodated Roman legions which were still dangerous. Huge flotillas which sometimes numbered hundreds of ships landed multi-thousand armies of barbarians in Asia Minor, on the shore of Hellas and even on Mediterranean islands.

The great campaign Despite tangible counterattacks of the Roman fleet, after a number of successful campaigns Gothic kings probably thought that the Empire was not that awful as it was described by experts and that’s why the time had come for the great campaign-migration in the manner of

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ancient kings who had become legends, the campaign from Scandza to Scythia. The campaign which started in 269 AD looked like a grandiose event: the number of the united army of Goths, Heruli and Peucini was not less than 60–100 thousand warriors. The fleet which numbered 2,000 (and according to some other data 6,000) ships was engaged in landing operations. Besides the army, up to 200,000 which were minted in infantrymen including Coins honor of the victory of the women, children with emperor Claudius II over Goths in 269—270 AD all their goods and chattels set out to the warm seas, to wealthy lands. Part of the huge fleet was built near the Roman borders, to be exact in the outskirts of Tyras, on the banks of the Dniester estuary. It is thought that this time Goths decided not to use ships on the Hellene or Roman pattern as it had been done the year before. They created a huge flotilla of small ships which were built in accordance with the Scandinavian tradition. On the outside, they resembled ferocious drakkars of Vikings which would inspire fear on Europe, Asia and even Africa a few centuries later. This time the Roman intelligence was on the alert that’s why the authorities of provinces were ready to meet the barbarians with all the weapons they had. However, the first blow was so powerful that the main column of warriors and settlers reached the territory of modern Serbia where a decisive battle took place near the city of Naissus (present-day Niš). After the lost battle Goths had to retreat. They sought salvation on the shore, but the Roman fleet already reigned undividedly on the sea. In other words, as a result the emperor Claudius II deserved both the triumph and the honorary title “Gothic” quite fairly. The success report which was read solemnly in the Roman senate informed: “…We killed three hundred thousand Goths and sank two thousand ships. All A coin in honor of the victory of the emperor Tacitus over Goths

Section 28. The times of Boz

The golden decades of peace It’s worth noting at once that the decades of peace after the end of “the Scythian wars” were relative. During this time those who wanted to test the strength of Roman borders and to get fabulously rich after a successful campaign tried to do it more than once or twice. But the majority of the population of the Land concentrated on solving simpler, but more important problems from the point of view of an ordinary man, especially the ones The unloading of the transport with “Scythian” prisoners in a Roman rd which are connected with achieving personal port. A detailed representation of a Roman relief, the 3 century flourishing. One of the most important results of the “Scythian” wars was the appearance of a great numthe rivers are covered with their shields and all the banks ber of people who had the most advanced knowledge and are covered with their swords and spears. You can’t even technologies of that time on the territory of the Land. see the fields because of the piles of bones… their huge Among them there were prisoners who had been captured fortress of carts is abandoned; among our prisoners there during campaigns to Roman provinces. Probably there are so many women that a victorious warrior can take two were also quite voluntary emigrants. or three of them.” In honor of the victory they minted a The reasons which forced the latter to leave the outmemorable coin on which the emperor is called “Gothic”. wardly prosperous and still wealthy Roman world were True, two centuries later the Gothic historian different. Somebody decided to take their chance and Jordanes called all these success reports tales which were open a new production facility in the lands of barbarians, spread by Romans in order to humiliate their adversaries. for example, a blowing workshop. In those times such a However, the fact remains that after 270 AD “the Scythian production facility had a practically unlimited market outwars” gradually abate. Nonetheless, the triumph also cost let and gave a real chance of getting rich soon. Traders Rome itself a lot: in 271 AD they had to evacuate the also went to the East, just like ancient Hellenes, to risk province Dacia. A victory remains a victory, but the and found a trading station not only on the shores of the legions and most of the population left long-inhabited Pontus, but even deep in the Gothic territories. places in the country which had been conquered as far Some other Romans just ran away up hill and down back as in the times of the emperor Trajan. The Roman dale after they had been included into the proscriptive lists garrisons left Olvia and Tyras and quite a lot of cities and (as they said in more modern times the shooting lists) after villages eventually turned into picturesque but abandoned another change of power. Former legionaries and even ruins. It’s worth noting that for the first time in hundreds of years not only the Roman army retreated in Europe (it had happened before), but the whole Roman state retreated, returning barbarians what had been captured by the right of the strongest before. It is after “the Scythian wars” that Rome starts yielding one position after another. The Empire is not devastated by hostile attacks, but by the constant struggle which is waged by the pretenders to the throne. In pauses between the fierce struggle for the power and the suppression of another riot, the rulers of Rome still manage to repulse the attacks of “barbarians”, receiving another honorary title “Gothic” and “Sarmatian” from the senate. However, new kingdoms, tribal unions and coalitions appear on the borders and they continue to persistently infringe on the once inviolable frontiers and The Chernyakhiv culture the 3rd–the beginning of the 5th century, an gather forces in order to try their luck and win exposition of the Archeological Museum of the Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine another fight for Rome.

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes officers joined the army of Gothic kings – somebody did it because of ambition and somebody evaded the responsibility of taking part in another riot. When Goths set out to Europe again, their armies will already be ready for the correct siege of impregnable fortresses and for battles (according to all the rules of the military art of that time) with Roman armies. Some time ago archeologists were surprised by the perfection (and the number) of the found pottery of the Chernyakhiv culture during the excavations of settlements and burial grounds. It was made on a fast potter's wheel which was burnt in double-deck furnaces. The sources of the technological breakthrough were found quite easily: in the traditions of the provincial Roman craft. However, pottery is not the only example. A wide production of jewelry is organized in the land, a boost in metallurgy and metalworking including weapons is observed everywhere. The number of settlements of the Chernyakhiv culture is increasing. A few thousand of them have already been discovered. Some of them impress with their sizes. Quite a lot of settlements which stretch for 8–10 kilometers along small rivers and even streams are known. According to the estimates of experts, probably for the first time the population in the Land numbered a few million. Though Goths can be considered the “titular” nation of that time, it mustn’t mislead you. The most probable model of the society seems to be multinational settlements of grain growers and craftsmen which united the representatives of different tribes and peoples. Here, besides Goths, there were also representatives of different tribes: Slavs, Sarmatians, Thracians and also the descendants of Scythians and Hellenes, the former citizens of the Empire which was also a multinational land. A new community is starting to form. Not only their ethnical diversity, but also their literacy impresses. From Volhynia to the Crimea there are finds of pottery with inscription in Latin, Greek letters and even Gothic runes. Sarmatian tamgas are also met next to them. It is quite possible that the residents of

Pottery of the Chernyakhiv culture. The end of the 3rd–the 4th century AD

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A fragment of an adornment with enamels. The Kyiv culture. The end of the 3rd–the beginning of the 4th century AD

many, especially trade, settlements knew four or five languages and even could write in some of them. The multi-tribal composition of the residents of settlements of the Chernyakhiv culture of the 4th century is confirmed by the presence of a diversity of molded ceramics besides the earthenware ones and also a diversity of the types of dwellings from “long buildings” to half dugouts with stone stoves. New types of cultures which are a certain alloy of the experience of the predecessors are formed in such a situation. The same happens in the field of languages. Suffice it to say that such words as “князь” (Gothic kunnigs), “казан” (katils), “скло” (stikls), “полк” (fulk), “плуг” (ploga), “буква” (boka), “меч” (mekeis), “шолом” (hilms), “виноград” (weina-gards) and even “хліб” (hlaifs) which seemed purely Slavic have the Gothic origin. Nonetheless, the rule of Goths couldn’t be compared with an idyll or the ideals of the parity society. The history of another Gothic word can be a spectacular and instructive example. In the Middle Ages the name “Hansa” belonged to a very wealthy Trans-European trade union of cities and one thousand years before that this was the name… of a military detachment. The interesting thing is that in the Polish language there is still a verb “hanzyty”, which means “to rob”. Numerous settlements of Goths spread to the East as far as the present-day Kharkiv region and Sea of azov area. In the North they went up the Dnieper, having forced out from part of the Kyiv region the tribes of the Kyiv

Section 28. The times of Boz Molded and earthenware vessels of the Chernyakhiv culture. The end of the 3rd–the 4th century AD

Products of glass – a cup and a necklace, topselling items on the territory of the spreading of the Chernyakhiv culture. The end of the 3rd–the 4th century AD

culture to which the ancestors of Slavs are attributed now. This movement was not peaceful. But still, under new conditions it turned out that it was clearly much more profitable for ordinary people to trade than to wage war. At least with Romans. Goths and also their allies and subjects, just like Scythians and Sarmatians before them, couldn’t do without all the good and necessary goods of the Roman world like wine, fabric, adornments any more. It is thought that the great king Ermaarich started expanding the boundaries of his state to the East and to the North not with the purpose of conquering the neighboring tribes, but with the purpose of controlling the trade routes. Rome and especially people in provinces understood the importance of trade for barbarians well. As punishment for raids the governors of provinces started using embargoes on trade. The effect surpassed all expectations: the Gothic rulers almost voluntarily became guarantors of quiet on the borders with provinces. One of the results of successful trade was the appearance of a great number of Roman coins in the Land1. Denarii and other products of the Roman mint were as popular with our distant ancestors at that time as euros and US dollars now. And the population of the Gothic kingdom demanded as the payment for goods and services real silver coins of the times of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius and not the doubtful money of the new, “soldierly” emperors. This preference is confirmed by numerous treasures of the Roman “currency” which A gratuity medallion of the emperor Constantius I which was made in honor of another victory over barbarians

1

were found in Ukraine. The coin silver was also used as raw materials for the production of jewelry by local craftsmen. Since “barbarians” had no other source of silver at that time. The interesting thing is that it is in those years that Rome switched over from minting silver coins to minting gold coins which corresponded with the needs of the wealthiest and, just like before, the most powerful state of Europe. Perhaps it is not accidental that it is during these “golden years” that the capital of the Empire was transferred to the place of the ancient Hellene city Byzantium which was renamed for Constantinople (officially in 330). The ruling emperor was sure that in the East of the great empire the situation was more quiet and stable than in Rome. And it happened despite the fact that a number of wars were waged in these lands as far back as half a century before the solemn transfer of the capital! Remembering the stormy past, the emperor ordered to fortify the city in a thorough way. It’s worth mentioning that Constantine the Great also quite fairly deserved (in a battlefield) the honorary titles “Gothic” and “Sarmatian” after which the rulers of the Greuthungi and the Tervingi were forced to send their sons to the new capital as hostages. Here the successors of the best clans of Gothia had all the possibilities to receive evidence of the greatness of the empire of the Romei. One of them, the son of the king Ariarich was so impressed by what he saw that he obtained a terrible vow from his own son: never(!) to set foot on the lands of the empire. And his son kept A detailed representation of images on the medallion of the emperor Constantius I. The defeated barbarian, judging by the clothes, could come from one of the Sarmatian tribes

The list of such finds for the end of the 1950s of the 20th century can be found in the book: М. Ю. Брайчевський Римська монета на території України. — К., 1959 (M. Yu. Braychevskyi The Roman coin on the territory of Ukraine).

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Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes A figured vessel in the form of a boot. The Chernyakhiv culture, the 4th century AD

The point of a spear which was found in a burial place of the Chernyakhiv culture. The 4th century AD

his vow. Goths become Christians and the Goth Ulfilas2 who was ordained into an episcope translated the Bible into the language of his people. In order to do this he had to develop a special alphabet which was supposed to replace the ancient pagan runes. It seemed that finally peace and bliss had come to the land and barbarians would live with Romans in peace and even in spiritual unity.

The Scourge of God As it often happens, such an idyll didn’t last for long. The numerous relatives of the great king Ermaarich had their own views on wealth, honor, valor and glory. To get rich with the help of trade with neighbors was the least they wanted. They liked sagas which described sanguinary battles and the victories over hostile tribes and even over Rome much more. After the death of the great ruler his state split into a few parts each of which got involved in a war with neighbors including Romans. At this moment the next pretenders to the position of the ruler of the ecumene, Huns, came from the depth of Asia. Goths never managed to offer decent resistance to the newcomers and were forced to yield. At this moment, exactly in 375 AD, a war between Goths and Antes flared up. Even though the successor of Ermaarich, the king Vinitari, lost the first battle, he, nonetheless, managed to defeat Antes after which, as the Gothic historian Jordanes informs, “…crucified their king Boz (Booz) with his sons and seventy elders…” Researchers still break a lance on the question whether Antes were Slavs or this name should be correlated with the name of some union of tribes which included both Slavs together with Alans and also representatives of other ethnic groups. As a matter of fact, there are no exhaustive proofs of neither of the versions. The war between Goths and Antes is explained in a different way too. According to one version, Antes went on a campaign in order to free themselves from the control of 2

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the successor of Ermaarich. According to the other version, the campaign of Vinitari took place after Antes had occupied part of the lands to which Goths pretended as they had conquered them before. The areas of Middle Dnieper area where the settlements of the Chernyakhiv culture were rather close to the settlements of the Kyiv culture might as well be the apple of discord. Recently the Kyiv culture is considered as the archeological equivalent of Antes of the times of the revolt of Boz-Booz. The final was sad for most of the participants of the conflict. Antes were defeated, their settlements were burnt, their chiefs were executed. However, the settlements of Goths were also devastated by Huns and their allies, Sarmatians-Alans. If we remember the version about the kinship of Sarmatian and Slavic chiefs of Dnieper area, then the participation of Alans in the punitive campaign against Goths looks quite natural: ordinary (for those times) blood vengeance for their relatives. Excavations show that the life in the Chernyakhiv settlements of the Kyiv region faded out in the last quarter of the 4th century, i.e. after that very unfortunate year of 375 AD. Some villages were just abandoned by the population, but some of them disappeared in the flame of fires. The memory about these events will outlast centuries. The name of the chief of Antes, Boz, only in a little changed form will be mentioned in “The Tale of Igor's Campaign”: “…Fair Gothic maidens have sung out on the bank of the deep blue sea. Jangling the gold of Rus they sing the time of Booz…” However, Goths themselves had a hard time too. The Gothic historian Jordanes who is almost the contemporary of those events wrote: “Huns always treated Goths in a cruel way; they themselves never worked the land and fed on the Gothic bread.” Part of Gothic “people of the steppe” joined Huns. The other part, mostly “forest people”, managed to go deep in Europe and to settle down in the outskirts of the territories of the Western Roman A ceramic imitation of a glass cup. The Chernyakhiv culture

True, among his ancestors there were also Hellenes from among the slaves who had been captured as far back as in the Scythian wars.

Section 28. The times of Boz The top of a mark of a subunit of the Roman army which was found on the territory of the Ternopil region – a military trophy of the times of the “Scythian” wars

Empire. Some peripeteias of the Gothic coexistence and cooperation with Huns will be vividly described later in the famous ancient epos “The Song of the Nibelungs”. A considerable number of the residents of “the Country of the sword”, only this time not only Goths, just like in old times, but also Sarmatians (Alans) with their carts and belongings set out in search of salvation to the Balkans under the protection of the Roman legions. At first Romans refused to let them cross the border, then they made them lay down their weapons and only then let them through. In exchange, they promised to provide humanitarian aid to the refugees. By the way, the humanitarian aid was promised by the emperor himself. However, this aid, victualling stores, as it had happened before more than once, turned out to be stolen successfully and resold by light-fingered officials and the local governors started to sell the refugees in servitude secretly. It all ended in an immense revolt of the people who had been driven to despair and among these people there were rather skilled warriors. They quickly got weapons (good Roman weapons) already in the first fights. The emperor Valens who headed the punitive campaign died in a battle of Adrianople on 9 August 378 AD. On that hot day a desperate attack of the heavy Gothic-Sarmatian cavalry headed by Alatheus and Saphrax became fatal for the Roman legions. As a result, probably the last big field army was annihilated and the authorities had only garrisons scattered in different fortresses left. Two years later forced settlers were recruited to the military service by a new emperor. While old-timers of Europe were sorting out their relationship, Huns came from the Pontic region steppes. This Asian people went from the boundaries of China to Italy as an irresistible torrent. Having plundered Roman cities, they settled down for some time in the Hungarian plain, right in the center of Europe. It is from those times that they started calling these places “the country of Huns”, Hungary. There are few traces of Huns on the territory of the Land – not more than a dozen and a half places of finds from the Western to Eastern borders. These are several burial places which were made in more ancient burial mounds. They found there gold things, weapons including trophies which had been taken from Goths. The destruction of most cities in the Crimea is linked to the invasion of Huns; only Chersonesos managed to survive.

Finds from the Hunnish burial places on the territory of the Crimea. The gold products are adorned with insertions of cornelian and garnet. The 4th–the 5th century AD

A sword from a Hunnish burial place, the Crimea. The hilt is adorned with insertions of garnet. The 4th–the 5th century AD

True, the residents of Pontic region themselves sometimes managed to take something from bellicose newcomers. During the excavations of a settlement of the Chernyakhiv culture I found a strange massive bronze object at the bottom of a pit which turned out to be a handle from a cast cauldron. By the way, quite few such intact cauldrons have been found in Europe. Probably somebody of the local residents got this handle when Huns finally left the territory of the Land. The coming of Huns and their allies (voluntary and involuntary) to Europe broke the status quo completely and actually marked the beginning of the Early Middle Ages. The Western Roman Empire fell and only the Eastern one which kept quiet for some time on the Western and Southern shores of the Pontus was left. The invasion of Huns which was shattering for Gothic kingdoms became a benefit for the peoples of the Land in a certain sense. Having freed them-

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A Gothic woman. Reconstruction on the basis of the materials of the excavations in the Crimea. The cloak is fastened with the help of big fasteners-fibulas (According to I.S. Pioro) Huns, the conquerors of Europe in the imagination of cinematographers and painters

selves from the control of the elite from foreign tribes when both Goths and Huns went to the West, they received a chance not only to survive, but also to establish their own states or even one united state. Part of Alanian tribes together with Huns took part in Europeans conquests. Warriors-nomads were most often appointed rulers as the administration for the supervision over the local tribes. It is thought that it is this way that certain Sarmatian ethnicons were grasped by some European peoples including Slavs, for example, Croats3. Probably “the Sarmatian theory” of the origin of the gentlefolk of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth which was extremely popular in the 16th–the 17th centuries was based on the echo of this epoch. And the fragments of the Gothic kingdom are preserved in the mountain Crimea which was occupied during the first campaigns as far back as in the 3rd century. Here around impregnable mountain fortresses of “the country of Dori” (which was known in Rus as the Principality of Theodoro as far back as in the 15th century) Gothic villages live till the conquest of the peninsula by the Ottoman Empire in 1475. So, the author of “The Tale of Igor's 3

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T. Sulimirskyi mentions among them white Croats and Serbians.

Campaign” was quite correct having placed Gothic “maidens” on the shore of the sea, i.e. in the Crimea. The traces of the stay of Goths in the Crimea which are still found are rather numerous, interesting and diverse. Among them there is a fireplace with a cross and runes which was found in 1996 in the mountain Opuk. Here on its top there were walls and towers of a Gothic stronghold once. The inscription which is made with “senior runes” is interpreted in a different way. Some researchers think that it is a talisman – runes were often used in magical purposes in medieval Europe, especially in the North. Maybe this stone was immured with the purpose of magical protection of the entrance to the fortress? True, the combination of a cross and rune magic doesn’t look very logical. Others pay attention to the fact that the combination of runes which can be read as “ThPRA” is part of the abbreviated ethnicon “trapezitai”. It is known for the Crimea of the 6th century and belonged to a certain Gothic tribe; it was even used for indicating part of the territory of the peninsula. Burial grounds with wealthy burial places in which there are a lot of gold and silver adornments including the famous “eagle head” clasps are the most known. Unfortunately, almost all Gothic graves in the Crimea have been robbed in a barbarian way for the last decades.

The path with the length of sixty centuries From the beginning of Trypillia to the Antes there is almost sixty centuries. Quite a lot of events have taken place in our land for this time. Tribes and peoples changed, wars were waged, cities appeared and disappeared, quite a lot of discoveries and inventions were made. After “the golden century” of Trypillia dark centuries of the early Bronze Age started and after the prosperity of the late Bronze Age “the time of long swords” of the Cimmerian epoch came. The gold of Scythia became the loot of more powerful neighbors, Sarmatians who in their turn were forced to yield precedence to the king of Goths Ermaarich. The Land followed its own path which was not known in advance, from greatness to oblivion, from decay to flourishing and such turns of history occurred more than once. It is the greatest temptation to consider your own country to be the center of the Universe, but it is much more interesting to try to understand its place and role in the ever changing world. Passing by museum showcases in which the finds obtained during excavations are exhibited, you can quite clearly envisage the images of past epochs. Behind every object there are not only people who created it, but also the events that formed the history which we know and which we ponder over now. Nature reserves which have protective marks, the places of ancient settlements and fortified cities and now also the monuments to ancient civilizations preserve the historical memory and remind us of the hoary antiquity. The lands of the present-day state of Ukraine have been included into different political unions for the last millenniums. Ancient grain growers who created the Trypillian culture were the Eastern outpost of civilized Old Europe for two millenniums. Then probably for the first time the words that denote things without which the modern civilization is not possible – bread, metal, city appeared in the language. Once our neighbors from the North, the East and the South envied the quality and the level of life in our land. And then for one thousand years it turned into a distant, forgotten and almost legendary outskirts of Europe, into lands forgotten by people and gods. The powerful Hercules wandered here quire accidentally in order to find another wife, Snake-legged Diva, a daughter of Borisphen. Cimmerians and also their descendants, children of Hercules, descendants of Zeus and Borisphen who are more known as the invincible Scythians became the participants of the history of many states and peoples of the Old World. Probably they would remain invincible

forever if they had preserved unity. But Scythians left the historical stage, having left us heritage in the form of gold hidden in burial mounds and the glorious name. Only a few centuries passed and the Sarmatian cavalry together with the Gothic infantry acquired power and

Archeological museums: Kyiv Regional Museum, Odessa Museum, the Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine. Fragments of expositions

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Earth ramparts of the Khotiv ancient settlement of the Scythian time

confidence in their strength on the territory of our Land. This armed international vanguard of free Europe defeated united Europe in fierce battles then. They defeated that very fabulously rich and civilized united Europe which had been created by divine emperors. They defeated Europe which, as many people thought in those distant times, was securely protected by the invincible legions of great Rome from Britain to the Rhine and the Danube. In the next new “dark centuries”, in the epoch of the legends about King Arthur, Nibelungs and knyaz Kyi a lot of peoples who still inhabit modern Europe including Ukraine are formed. The history of foreign policies of the societies of ancient times is rather interesting and didactic. Quite a lot of different things have happened in this history. The expansion and a desperate repulse of invaders, the assimilation of the newcomers and their inclusion into the ruling elite. The Pontic steppes are still considered in Europe as a mysterious and huge land from which hordes of barbarians sometimes come and these barbarians have no mercy and are ready to destroy and rob everything on their way. And even now quite a lot of Europeans can’t decide finally whether it is necessary to reckon these lands as part of Europe or to consider them as part Asia. More than one ancient author warned civilized Europeans of the perfidy and cruelty of barbarians that they mustn’t be trusted under any conditions. There is also quite an opposite opinion that the ancient residents of Ukraine who actually were not bellicose all the same sometimes won (such things also happened) battles, but never won a single war. Such a conclusion is more dependent on the desire of the interpreter and his vision of the local prospects. Examples? There are plenty of them.

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Let’s take, for example, the campaign of Darius I against Scythians. In this case the decisive battle didn’t take place at all (if we don’t take into account the annihilation by Scythians of the wounded warriors and the warriors serving in the rear who had been left to the mercy of fate by the “king of all kings”) and the war was lost. The huge army of Darius, to be more exact what was left of it, was forced to run away from the Land, abandoning carts and the wounded. In the case with the campaign of the Macedonian commander Zopyrion, most likely it didn’t come to a decisive battle either. And as for the grandiose strategic plans of Alexander the Great, the ruler of Greece, Persia, Egypt and other distant and near countries, it is in the Scythian, Pontic steppes that they were buried forever together with a thirtythousand army of the new great and mighty empire. The ancient residents of the Land were rather freedom-loving and fearless people who were not afraid, if necessary, to throw out a challenge to the biggest superpowers of the past – Persia, Macedonia and Rome. And more importantly, they had enough wisdom, courage and self-control to come off victorious in a seemingly hopeless struggle more than once or twice. Let’s remember a tiny Olvian polis the territories of which didn’t go beyond the boundaries of a few modern districts of the Mykolaiv region and the armed forces didn’t exceed a few thousand hoplites. Its citizens threw out a challenge to the empire of Alexander of Macedon and… gained a victory. It happened so because for the sake of the victory of democracy the Olvian demos managed not only to unite the citizens, but also to enter into an alliance with the invincible Scythians, regardless of the fact that deep in their heart they continued to consider them barbarians. However, the people and the rulers of the Land more than once or twice accepted, when they thought it feasible, the cooperation with empires and sometimes it was not without the benefit for themselves or their country. So, most likely we can speak about some depth of the strategic thinking of the residents of the Land from various tribes who in the end won the most incredible and hopeless, in the opinion of ancient strategists and politologists, confrontations. Or we can speak about their exceptional ruse and luck. It is up to you which version to choose. There is also another aspect of the subject concerning friends and enemies. This is the question of the strategy of the safety of the Land. And here we can observe various approaches and see the supporters of the focus on different allies and defenders. For instance, almost two thousand years ago some Hellene poleis and even kingdoms of Pontus chose mighty Rome as a defender. For some time the empire managed to assure them protection from the raids of bellicose barbarians, having deployed their garrisons behind the walls of military bases-citadels which were built hurriedly. Some of them preferred to come to an agreement with barbarians who roamed in the steppes. There were also people who came to an agreement both

The path with the length of sixty centuries with Rome and barbarians at the same time. It is understood that they had to pay for all these types of help and protection. However, the residents of Chersonesos Taurica probably turned out to be the most far-sighted. They not only accommodated a Roman garrison, but also took care of building appropriate city fortifications. Thanks to these very strong stone walls and towers they had somewhere to hide in those times when the Romans withdrew garrisons and barbarians-Goths came from the North. Goths didn’t really believe in the invincibility of Roman legions and defeated these legions more than once. Nonetheless, Chersonesos outlived Goths; it survived even when after Goths new equally ferocious conquerors, Huns, came. Some time passed, Huns disappeared, but Chersonesos remained; this city lived for almost one thousand more years. And the walls of Chersonesos Taurica still rise above the outskirts of Sevastopol as a reminder of farsightedness and wisdom of the residents of the ancient city. However, even the strongest fortifications won’t be able to stop the enemy if the residents of a city or the citizens of a country, for one reason or another, are not ready to offer decent resistance. The mighty multi-meter ramparts of the ancient settlements of the Scythian epoch from Belsk to Trakhtemyriv, from Khotiv to Nemyriv are a reminder of it. Even Trajan's Walls, the frontier fortifications which were built in accordance with all the rules of the military art and strategy didn’t stop barbarians when the Roman Empire was shaken by struggles for power. For the last millenniums the Land and its residents have tried all possible models of interaction and integration with Europe. Our ancestors knew how to study and adopt “the advanced experience” in diverse branches from technologies to the state order. The Land both became part of Europe and resisted it. Its residents tried to conquer some part of the continent or even to migrate to warmer, more prosperous and, as they thought then, more civilized lands, for instance to the Danube. And some of them managed to do that. However, more than once or twice the Land became a shelter for whole peoples and separate people who for different reasons sought their fortune far from their historical homeland. The residents of the Land didn’t go down in the ancient history of Europe only as merciless and perfidious conquerors. Sometimes they quite peacefully integrated in more civilized and economically prosperous communities and their contribution to the history or the culture of the countries of their stay is noticeable even millenniums later. Their names are preserved in historical works and sometimes in the fragments of ancient inscriptions. Among those who became famous far from their homeland were wise men – wise thoughts expressed by 1

2

A monument to the Trypillian civilization in the town of Rzhyshchiv

Scythians Anacharsis and Ateas were written down by philosophers in educated Hellas. Skilled and brave warriors also went down in history. The natives of the Land served to so many people. They served to Assyrian and Persian kings, to Hellene poleis and to great Rome. They fought in the mountains of Anatolia, on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea and in arid deserts of Asia and also left their trace on the distant island called Britain – let’s remember the Sarmatian contribution to the legend about King Arthur. For the last millenniums many of them, probably there were many more of them than the mentioned above wise men and warriors, integrated not voluntarily, but as slaves, man power which raised the economy of democratic poleis of Hellas, Persian satrapies or flourishing provinces of the boundless Roman Empire. Numerous models of the interaction with the West and the East, the North and the South were worked through – from mutually beneficial trade and alliances to confrontations and struggles till complete annihilation. Tribes and peoples who lived in ancient times on the territory of our country accumulated enormous experience not only in the branch of economy and technologies. They accumulated diverse political experience, learnt to live peacefully, to coexist with one another. The interesting thing is that at different times this very coexistence and cooperation and also prosperous and mutually beneficial trade with neighbors, as a rule, led to the flourishing of not only the economy, but also the culture. On the pages of this book we have covered a way with the length of almost six long millenniums, the history of the Land from Trypillia to the Antes. The closer to our times, the more there are finds and events about which I would like to tell you. From the Antes to Rus, from Rus to Terrae Russiae1 and Roxolania2 – these are the main landmarks of the further story which I hope will be continued.

Terrae Russiae – the name of part of the territories of the Land in the titulary of the successors of king Danylo Halytskyi at the beginning of the 14th century. Roxolania – the name of the lands of Kievan and Galicia Rus in the poem with the same name by Sebastian Klenovych (1548).

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Abbreviations BAH — The bulletin of the ancient history МИА (MRA) — Materials and researches on archeology of the USSR РА (RA) — Russian archeology СА (SA) — Soviet archeology

BPS — Baltic-Pontic Studies SP — Stratum Plus K — Kyiv M — Moscow

References he bibliography of only scientific works which are connected with archeology and ancient history of the Land, published from the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, numbers dozens of thousands of names. A few volumes of reference books which can be found in many libraries of Ukraine are dedicated to its description and systematization. Quite a lot of books, especially over recent years, have also been published abroad. The references which are arranged in accordance with sections include first of all works which were used when writing this book, the information and the results of scientific researches. The latest publications, especially monographs, have the most complete references on different questions.

T

PAGES OF THE ANCIENT HISTORY 1. Археологія Української РСР. — К., 1971—1974. — Т. I—III 2. Археология Украинской ССР. — К., 1985—1986 . — Т. 1—3. 3. Давня історія України. — Т. 1 (К,, 1997); Т. 2 (К., 1998). 4. Г. Мезенцева Дослідники археології України. — Чернігів, 1997. 5. Словник — довiдник з археологiї. — К., 1996.

Section 1. WHEN WE WERE IN OLD EUROPE

Section 3. PEOPLES AND LANGUAGES OF “THE LAND OF TRYPILLIADA”

1. М. Гимбутас Цивилизация Великой Богини. Мир Древней Европы. — Москва, 2006 2. С. О. Гусєв Трипiльська культура Середнього Побужжя рубежу IV—III тис. до н. е. — Вiнниця, 1995. 3. І.І. Заєць Трипільська культура на Поділлі. — Вінниця, 2001. 4. Енциклопедія трипільської цивілізації. — К., 2004. — Т. I—II. 5. Г. Ф. Коробкова, С.А. Семенов Технология древнейших производств: Мезолит — энеолит. — Ленинград, 1983. 6. Г. О. Пашкевич, М.Ю. Відейко Рільництво племен трипільської культури. — К., 2006. 7. Рижов С. М. Гончарство племен трипільської культури // Давня кераміка України. — К., 2001. 8. Трипільська культура. Пошуки, відкриття, світовий контекст. — К., 2007.

1. В. А. Дергачев Памятники позднего Триполья. — Кишинев, 1980 2. Ю. Л. Мосенкіс Мова трипільської культури: Джерела, методи, результати реконструкції. — К.:, 2001. 3. Петров В. Походження українського народу. — К., 1992. 4. Павленко Ю. В. Етномовна ідентичність носіїв трипільської культури// Трипільська цивілізація у спадщині України. — К.: Вид. центр «Просвіта», 2003. 5. Петров В. П. Походження українського народу. — К., 1992. 6. Сохацький М., Нікітін О., Ковалюх М., Відейко М. Перші дослідження ДНК за антропологічними матеріалами трипільської культури із печери Вертеба //Трипільська культура. Пошуки, відкриття, світовий контекст. — К., 2007..

Section 2. THE FLOURISHING OF THE TRYPILLIAN CIVILIZATION 1. В. И. Балабина Фигурки животных в пластике Кукутени— Триполья. — М.: Старый сад, 1998. 2. Н. Б. Бурдо Антропоморфна теракота трипільської культури // Давня кераміка України. — К., 2001. 3. М. Ю. Відейко Трипільські протоміста. Історія досліджень. — К., 2002. 4. В. О. Круц Питання демографii трипiльськоi культури//Археологiя, 1993. — № 3. — С. 30—36. 5. Н. В. Рындина Древнейшее металлообрабатывающее производство ЮгоKВосточной Европы. — Москва, 1998.

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6. Т. Ткачук Знакові системи ТрипільськоKкукутенської культурноKісторичної спільності (мальований посуд). — 2005. — Ч. І— ІІ. 7. Трипільські поселенняKгіганти. Матеріали міжнародної конференції. — К., 2003. 8. М. М. Шмаглій Великі трипільські поселення і проблема ранніх форм урбанізації. — К., 2001.

Section 4. NOT BY TRYPILLIA ALONE 1. Археологічні пам'ятки Хортиці. — Запоріжжя, 2006. — Випуск 1. 2. Н. С. Котова Ранний энеолит степного Поднепровья и Приазовья. — Луганск, 2006. 3. Л. В. Субботин Памятники культуры Гумельница Юго — Запада Украины. — К. 1983. 4. Д. Я. Телегін Середньостогівська культура епохи міді. — К., 1974. 5. Д. Я. Телегин, А. Л. Нечитайло, И. Д. Потехина, Ю. В. Панченко Среднестоговская и новоданиловская культуры энеолита АзовоKчерноморского региона. — Луганськ, 2001. 6. Ju. Rassamakin Die Nordpontische Steppe in der Kupferzeit// Archeologie in Eurasien, 17. — Berlin, 2004.

Section 5. THE TWILIGHT OF OLD EUROPE 1. М. Ю. Відейко Три епізоди з трипільських воєн// ВійськовоKісторичний альманах, 2002. — №3. — С. 48—54. 2. В. А. Дергачев, И.Г. Манзура Погребальные комплексы позднего Триполья. — Кишинев, 1991 3. И. Ф. Ковалева Север Степного причерноморья в энеолите — раннем бронзовом веке. — Днепропетровск, 1984. 4. Э. Ф. Патокова, В.Г. Петренко, Н.Б. Бурдо, Л.Ю.Полищук Памятники трипольской культуры в СевероKЗападном Причерноморье. — К., 1989. 5. В. Г. Петренко Епонімне Усатове та проблема генезису усатівської культури // Трипільська цивілізація у спадщині України. — К., 2003. — С. 135—143. 6. Е. К. Черныш Энеолит Правобережной Украины и Молдавии // Энеолит СССР. — М., 1982.

Section 6. ANCIENT BURIAL MOUNDS AND THEIR CREATORS 1. С. Н. Братченко Донецька катакомбна культура раннього етапу. — Луганськ, 2001. 2. В. Клочко, В. Парамонов Мергелева гряда//Пам'ятки України, 2006. — №4. — С. 2, 144. 3. Г. Ф. Коробкова, О. Г. Шапошникова. Поселение Михайловка. Эталонный памятник древнеямной культуры. — СKПетербург, 2005. 4. С. Ж. Пустовалов Соціальний лад катакомбного суспільства Північного Причорномор'я. — К., 2005. 5. С. Н. Санжаров Катакомбные культуры СевероKВосточного Приазовья. — К., 2003. 6. Г. Н. Тощев Крым в эпоху бронзы. — Запорожье, 2007.

Section 7. THE AGE OF BATTLE AXES 1. И. И. Артеменко Культуры раннего бронзового века южной полосы лесов Европейской части СССР//Эпоха бронзы лесной полосы СССР. — Москва, 1987. — С. 35—50. 2. С. Н. Братченко Лук і стріли доби енеолітуKбронзи Півдня Східної Європи // Археологія, 1989. — № 4. — С. 70— 81. 3. С. Н. Братченко, В.І. Клочко, О.Б. Солтис Металеві сокири ямної культури Середньої Наддніпрянщини //Археологічний літопис Лівобережної України, 2000. — № 1—2. 4. С. В. Иванова Социальная структура ямной культуры СевероKЗападного Причерноморья. — Одесса, 2001. 5. Л. П. Крылова Керносовский идол.//Энеолит и бронзовый век Украины. — Киев, 1976. — С. 36—46. 6. M. Szmyt Globular Amphorae culture in Eastern Europe. Present state of research and possibilities for future studies // BPS. — 1996. — Vol. 4.

Section 8. ON THE LEADING EDGE OF THE TECHNOLOGIES OF THE ANCIENT TIMES 1. А. И. Кубышев, И. Т. Черняков К проблеме существования весовой системы у племен бронзового века степей Восточной Европы// СА, 1985. — №1. — С.39—54. 2. Б. Михайлов Кам'яна Могила — світова пам'ятка стародавньої культури в Україні. — К., 2003. 3. Ремесло эпохи энеолитаKбронзы на Украине. — К., 1994 4. С. И. Татаринов Древний металл Восточной Европы. Очерки реконструкции горного дела, металлургии и металлообработки в эпоху бронзы. — Артемовск, 1993.

Section 9. TO THE NORTH FROM MYCENAE ABUNDANT IN GOLD 1. С. С. Березанская Северная Украина в эпоху, бронзы. — К., 1982. 2. С. С. Березанская Усово Озеро — поселение срубной культуры на Сев. Донце. — К., 1990. 3. С. И. Берестнев Восточноукраинская лесостепь в эпоху средней и поздней бронзы (II тыс. до н. э). — Харьков, 2001. 4. В. А. Колотухин Поздний бронзовый век Крыма. — Киев, 2003. 5. Культуры эпохи бронзы на территории Украины. — К., 1986. 6. В. В. Отрощенко Проблеми періодизації культур середньої та пізньої бронзи півдня Східної Європи. — К., 2001.

Section 10. CONTEMPORARIES OF MAJESTIC ILION 1. Э. А. Балагури Население Верхнего Потисья в эпоху бронзы. — Ужгород, 2001. 2. В. П. Ванчугов Белозерские памятники в СевероKЗападном Причерноморье. — К., 1990. 3. К. В. Горбенко, Ю. С. Гребенников «Дикий Сад» археологический памятник XIII—IX вв. до н.э. — ровесник Трои. — Николаев, 2007. 4. В. І. Клочко Озброєння та військова справа давнього населення України. — К., 2006. 5. И. Н. Шарафутдинова Степное Поднепровье в эпоху поздней бронзы. — К., 1982 6. M. Korfmann Troia in the light of New Research. — Trier, 2003.

Section 11. THE TIMES OF “LONG SWORDS” 1. М. И. Артамонов Киммерийцы и скифы. — Ленинград, 1974. 2. С. В. Махортых Киммерийцы на Северном Кавказе. — К., 1994. 3. С. А. Скорый Киммерийцы в Украинской Лесостепи. — Киев— Полтава, 1997. 4. А. И. Тереножкин Киммерийцы. — К., 1976. 5. Е. В. Яровой, И. В. Бруяко Комплекс предскифского времени у с. Пуркары в Нижнем Поднестровье//SP, 2000. — № 3. — С. 157—170.

Section 12. CIMMERIANS AND SCYTHIANS IN ASIA 1. В. А. Белявский Вавилон легендарный и Вавилон исторический. — М., 1971. 2. Л. К. Галанина Келермесские курганы. — Москва, 1997. 3. И.М. Дьяконов Киммерийцы и скифы на древнем Востоке // РА. 1994. № 1. 4. А. И. Иванчик Киммерийцы. Древневосточные цивилизации и степные кочевники в VIII—VII веках до н.э. М., 1996. 5. В. Паркер О чем умалчивает Геродот. Заметки о передаче сведений о киммерийцах у греческих авторов помимо Геродота // ВДИ. 1998. № 4. 6. Б. Б. Пиотровский Ванское царство Урарту. — Ленинград, 1959. 7. Погребова М. Н. Иран и Закавказье в раннем железном веке. — Москва, 1977. — 184 с. 8. Античные памятники Крыма. — Киев, 2004. — 287 с. 9. Persiens Antike Pracht. Bergbau — Handwerk — Archeologie. — Bochum, 2004. — Band I—II.

Section 13. FROM CIMMERIA TO SCYTHIA 1. К. П. Бунятян, В. Ю. Мурзін, О. В. Симоненко На світанку історії. — К., 1998. 2. Від Кіммерії до Сарматії. — К., 2004 3. В. Клочко До проблеми походження скіфів//Пам'ятки України, 2005. — № 2. — С. 21—28.

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4. В. Ю. Мурзин Скифская архаика Северного Причерноморья. — К., 1988. 5. J. Chochorowski // Koczownicy Ukrainy. Katalog Wystawy. — Katowice, 1996. — S.107—138. 6. U zrodel Polski. Do roku 1038. — WrszawaKWroclaw, 2002. 7. Wielka Historia Polski. Tom 1. Najdawnejzse dzeje ziem Polskich (do VII w.) — Krakow, 1998.

Section 14. THE DESCENDANTS OF ZEUS AND BORISFEN 1. А. Ю. Алексеев Хронография Европейской Скифии VII—IV веков до н.э.. — С.KПетербург, 2003. 2. Великая Скифия. — Киев—Запорожье, 2002. 3. Н. А. Гаврилюк Домашнее производство и быт степных скифов. — К., 1989. 4. Н. А. Гаврилюк История экономики степной Скифии. — К., 1999. 5. Геродот. История в девяти книгах. /пер. Г.А. Грановского. — Ленинград, 1972. 6. В. А. Ильинская, А. И. Тереножкин Скифия VII—IV вв. до н.э. — К., 1983. 7. В. Ю. Мурзин Происхождение скифов: основные этапы формирования скифского этноса. — К., 1990. 8. У истоков цивилизации ( Сокровища Ойкумены). — М., 2004.

Section 15. THE GLORY OF THE INVINCIBLE 1. М. В. Горелик Оружие Древнего Востока. — Москва, 2003. 2. К. Мазетти Война Дария I со скифами и вавилонская пророческая литература//ВДИ, 1982. — №3. — С. 106—110 3. Б. А. Рыбаков Геродотова Скифия. — М., 1979. 4. Е. В. Черненко СкифоKПерсидская война. — Киев, 1984.

Section 16. THE COUNTRY OF FORGOTTEN TOWNS 1. С. С. Бессонова, С. А. Скорый Мотронинское городище скифской эпохи. — К., 2001. 2. Більське городище та його округа (до 100Kріччя початку польових досліджень). — К., 2006. 3. Люботинское городище. Сборник научных трудов. — Харьков, 1998. 4. Ю. Н. Малеев Гальштатские городища в Западной Подолии// Межплеменные связи эпохи бронзы на территории Украины. — К., 1987. — С. 86—101. 5. О. Фіалко, Ю. Болтрик Напад скіфів на Трахтемирівське городище. — К., 2003. 6. Б. А. Шрамко Бельское городище скифской эпохи (город Гелон). — Киев, 1987. — 183 с.

Section 17. THE PRODUCTION OF WEAPONS OF THE SCYTHIAN TIME 1. Великая Скифия. — Киев—Запорожье, 2002. — С. 76—86. 2. В. П. Григорьев Захоронение тяжеловооруженного скифского воина у с. Гладковщина//Древности скифов. — К., 1994. — С. 63—79. 3. О. І. Менжулін Реконструкція захисного озброєння скіфського воїна з поховання V ст. до н. е. Біля с. Гладкиіщина// Золото Степу. — 1987. — С. 137—142. 4. О. Мінжулін Реставрація творів з металу. — К. , 1998. — С. 134—149. 5. С. А. Скорый Стеблёв: скифский могильник в Поросье. — К., 1997. 6. Е. В.Черненко Скифский доспех. — К. , 1968. 7. Е. В. Черненко Скифские лучники. — К. , 1981.

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8. Є. В.Черненко Лицарі Великої Скіфії// Золото Степу. — 1987. — С. 131—135.

Section 18. BARBARIANS AND HELLENES 1. Античный мир и варвары на юге России и Украины: Ольвия, Скифия, Боспор. — Запорожье, 2007. 2. Античные памятники Крыма. — Киев, 2004. 3. И. В. Бруяко СевероKЗападное причерноморье в VII—V вв. до н. э. Начало колонизации Нижнего Поднестровья// Античный мир и археология. — Саратов, 1993. — Вып. 9. 4. В. М. Зубарь, В. Н. Зинько Боспор Киммерийский в античную эпоху. — Симферополь—Керчь, 2006. 5. С. Д. Крыжицкий Архитектура античных государств Северного Причерноморья. — К., 1993. 6. А. И. Мелюкова Скифия и фракийский мир. — Москва, 1979. — 256 с. 7. Сельская округа Ольвии. — К., 1989 8. Greek and Cypriote Antiquities in the Archaeological Museum of Odessa. — Nicisia, 2001.

Section 19. THE BATTLE FOR SCYTHIA 1. С. И. Андрух Нижнедунайская Скифия в VI — начале I в. до н.э. (ЭтноKполитический аспект). — Запорожье, 1995. 2. Ю. Болтрик Курган Чортомлик — могила царя Атея// АНТ, 2000. — № 4—6. 3. Каришковський П. Й. Скіфи на Дунаї//УІЖ, 1971. — № 9. 4. А. С. Русяева, А. Б. Супруненко Исторические личности эллиноKскифской эпохи. — Киев—Комсомольск, 2003. — С. 95—106. 5. Д. Б. Шелов Царь Атей// Нумизматика и сфрагистика. — К., 1965. — Вып. 2. 6. Д. Б. Шелов СкифоKмакедонский конфликт в истории древнего мира// Проблемы скифской археологии. — Москва, 1971.

Section 20. THE CAMPAIGN OF ZOPYRION 1. Ю. Г. Виноградов Политическая история Ольвийского полиса в VII—I вв. до н.э. — Москва, 1989. 2. Ю. Г. Виноградов, П.О. Карышковский Каллиник, сын Евксена. Проблемы политической и социальноKэкономической истории Ольвии второй половины IV в. до н.э. // ВДИ, 1982 — №4; 1983 — № 1). 3. В. М. Зубарь, Н.А. Сон СевероKЗападное Причерноморье в античную эпоху. — Симферополь, 2007. — С.84—88. 4. А. С. Русяева, А. Б. Супруненко Исторические личности эллиноKскифской эпохи. — Киев—Комсомольск, 2003. — С. 118—127.

Section 21. THE “SCYTHIAN TRACE” IN THE VICTORY OF THE OLBIOPOLITAI 1. Ю. А. Виноградов Счастливый город в войне. Военная история Ольвии VI в. до н.э. — IV в. до н. э. — С.KПетербург, 2006. — С.98—109. 2. Г. П. Сергеев Олонештский античный клад//ВДИ, 1966. — №2. — С.132—142. 3. A. Yu. Alekseyev Scythian Kings and «Royal» Burial Mounds of the Fifth and Fourth Centuries BC// Scythians and Greecs. — 2005. — P.39—55.

Section 22. WITNESSES OF THE GREATNESS OF SCYTHIA 1. А. Ю. Алексеев, В. Ю. Мурзин, Р. Ролле Чертомлык (Скифский царский курган IV в. до н.э). — К., 1991.

2. 3. 4. 5.

Золото Степу. Археологія України. — Київ—Шлезвіг, 1991. А. П. Манцевич Курган Солоха. — Ленинград, 1988. Б. М. Мозолевський Товста Могила. — К., 1979. Б. Н. Мозолевский , С.В.Полин Курганы скифского Герроса IV в. до н.э. — Киев, Стилос, 2005. 6. С. А. Скорий Курган Переп'ятиха. — К., 1990. 7. А. И. Тереножкин, Б. Н. Мозолевский Мелитопольский курган. — К., 1988.

Section 23. THE COUNTRY OF SARMATIA 1. А. Н. Дзиговский Очерки истории сарматов КарпатоKДнепровских земель. — Одесса, 2003. 2. В. С. Драчук Системы знаков Северного Причерноморья. — К., 1975. 3. Г. Т. Ковпаненко Сарматское погрбение I в. н. э. на Южном Буге. — К., 1986. 4. Е. В. Максимов Зарубинецкая культура на территории УССР. — К., 1982. 5. С. В. Полин От Скифии к Сарматии. — К., 1992. 6. А. В. Симоненко, Б. И. Лобай Сарматы СевероKЗападного Причерноморья. — К., 1991. 7. А. В. Симоненко Сарматы в Таврии.— К., 1993. 8. Т. Сулимирский Сарматы. — Москва, 2007.

Section 24. THREE SCYTHIAS 1. С. И. Андрух Нижнедунайская Скифия в VI — начале I в. до н.э. (ЭтноKполитический аспект). — Запорожье, 1995. 2. М. І. Вязьмітіна Золота Балка. — К., 1962. 3. М. И. Вязьмитина Золотобалковский могильник. — К., 1972. 4. Ю. П. Зайцев Неаполь Скифский. — Симферополь, 2003. 5. М. Оленковський Археологічні пам'ятки Херсонської області. — Херсон, 2004. 6. Н. Н. Погребова Скифские городища на нижнем Днепре 7. Т. Н. Высотская УстьKАльминское городище и некрополь. — К., 1994. 8. А. Н. Щеглов СевероKЗападный Крым в античную эпоху. — Ленинград, 1978.

Section 25. ROMAN EAGLES OVER THE NORTHERN PONTUS 1. С. Б. Буйских Фортификация Ольвийского государства (первые века нашей єрі). — К., 1991. 2. В. М. Зубарь Северный Понт и Римская империя. — К., 1998. 3. В. М. Зубарь Таврика и Римская империя. Римские войска и укрепления в Таврике. — К., 2004. 4. Н. А. Сон Тира римского времени. — К., 1993. 5. С. Б. Сорочан, В. М. Зубарь, Л. В. Марченко Жизнь и гибель Херсонеса. — Харьков, 2000. 6. Hungarian Archaeology at the Turn of the Millenium. — Budapest, 2003. 7. E. Isztvanovits, V. Kuksar Sarmatians through the eyes of strangers. The sarmatian warrior//International Connections of the Barbarians in the 1st — 5th centuries AD. — Muzeumi Euzetek(Asczod), 51. — 2001. — P.139—163.

Section 26. THE PATH OF THE DRAGON OR SARMATIANS IN BRITAIN 1. А. Комаринец Энциклопедия короля Артура и рыцарей Круглого Стола. — М., 2001. — С.29—36. 2. Sulimirski T. The Sarmatians. — New York: McGrawKHill., 1970. 3. C. S. Littleton, L.A. Malcor From Scythia to Camelot. — New York — London, 2000. 4. L. A. Malcor Lucius Artorius Castus // The Heroic Age, Issue 1, 1999. —http://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/1/hatoc.htm 5. The New Arthurian Encyklopedia/ Ed. J. Norris. — New York — London, 1996.

Section 27. THE COUNTRY OF THE SWORD 1. В. Д. Баран Черняхівська культура. — К., 1981. 2. М. Ю. Брайчевський Римська монета на території України. — К., 1959. 3. Б. Магомедов Черняховская культура. Проблема этноса. — Lublin, 2001. 4. Прокопий Кессарийский. История войн // Свод древнейших письменных известий о славянах. — Москва, 1994. — Т. I (I— IV вв.). — С. 170—250. 5. М. Б. Щукин Готский путь: Готы, Рим и черняховская культура. — С.KПетербург, 2005.

Section 28. THE TIMES OF BOZ 1. А. В. Гудкова, М. М. Фокеев Земледельцы и кочевники в низовьях Дуная I—IV вв. н.э. — К., 1984. 2. Д. Пейнроз Рим и его враги. — М., 2008. 3. И. С. Пиоро Крымская Готия. — К., 1990. 4. О. Пріцак Походження Русі. Стародавні скандинавські джерела (крім ісландських саг). — К., 1997. — Т. І. 5. Є. Ф. Редіна, О. А. Росохацький До вивчення гунських старожитностей ПівнічноKЗахідного Причорномор'я // Археологія, 1994. — №3. — С. 152—155. 6. Р. В. Терпиловский Киевская и черняховская культуры. Проблема контактов// SP, 2000. — № 4. — С. 303—311. 7. Р. В. Терпиловский Славяне Поднепровья в первой половине I тысячелетия н.э. — Lublin, 2004. 8. М. Щукин На рубеже эр. — С.KПетербург, 1994. 9. Этнокультурная карта территории Украинской ССР в I тыс. н. э. — К., 1985.

THE PATH WITH THE LENGTH OF SIXTY CENTURIES 1. Етнічна історія давньої України. — К., 2000. 2. Історія української культури. — К., 2001. — Т.1. 3. Україна—Європа: Хронологія розвитку. З давніх часів до пізньої античності. — К., 2007. 4. Інститут археології НАН України: www.iananu.kiev.ua 5. Магістерська програма «Археологія та давня історія України»: www.ukma.kiev.ua/ua/mag/index.php 6. Музейний портал України: www.ukrmuseum.org.ua 7. Сервер Восточноевропейской археологии: www.eeu — a. kiev. ua/eng/ 8. Центр пам'яткознавства: www.pamjatky.org.ua

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The photos which were used in the book were provided by: L.A. Spitsyna (section 9), S.V. Makhortykh (section 16), M.M. Videiko (section 16), V.M. Zubar (sections 18, 25), S.M. Lyashko (section 20), D.P. Nedopako (section 27), computer reconstructions M.M. Videiko (sections 1, 2, 8, 18).

In the pictures you can see materials and finds which were obtained as a result of researches of archeologists: I.O. Antonova, I.I. Artemenko, S.O. Belyaeva, S.S. Berezanska, D.T. Berezovets, S.M. Bibikov, V.I. Bidzil, M.F. Boltenko, M.Yu. Braychevckyi, S.N. Bratchenko, N.B. Burdo, M.I. Veselovskyi, M.Yu. Videiko, Yu.G. Vinogradov, K. Gadachek, S.S. Gamchenko, V.P.Grygoryev, V.M.Danylenko, O.D. Dashevska, O.V. Dobrovolskyi, V.P. Dudkin, G.L. Yevdokymov, A.L. Yesypenko, Yu.M. Zakharuk, V.G. Zbenovych, V.M. Zubar, G.Yu. Ivakin, V.A. Ilyinska, P.O. Karyshovskyi, V.M. Kasyanenko, V.Ya. Kyashko, V.I. Klochko, I.F. Kovalyova, M.V.Kovalyov, G.T. Kovpanenko, V. Kozlovska, N.M. Kravchenko, V.O. Kruts, S.D. Kryzhytskyi, A.I. Kubyshev, O.F. Logodovska, V.V. Lapin, B.I. Lobay, B.V. Magomedov, Ye.V. Makhno, M.L. Makarevich, V.Ye. Maksimov, V.I. Markevich, T.G. Movsh, B.M. Mozolevskyi, V.V. Otroshchenko, B.O. Rybakov, T.S. Passek, Ye.F. Patokova, S.P. Pachkova, M.A. Peleshchyshyn, V.P. Petrov, B.B. Piotrovskyi, O.F. Pokrovskyi, S.V. Polin, S.I. Rudenko, A.S. Rusyava, O.Ya. Savel, G.P. Sergeyev, A.V. Simonenko, N.M. Skakun, S.A. Skoryi, A.T. Smylenko, N.O. Son, M.P. Sokhatskyi, L.V. Subbotin, D.Ya. Telegin, O.I. Terenozhkin, P.I. Khavlyuk, V.V. Khvoika, O.V. Tsvek, M.M. Cherednychenko, K.K. Chernysh, I.M. Sharafutdynova, K.V. Shyshkin, M.M. Shmagliy, B.A. Shramko, Ye.R. fon Shtern, P.M. Shults, O.O. Shchepynskyi, O.O. Yakubenko.

And also the expositions of museums: Archeological Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine (Kyiv), I. Krypyakevych Archeological Institute of Social Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine (Lviv), The Odessa Archeological Museum of the NAS of Ukraine, The Central Museum of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Kyiv), The Archeological Laboratory of T. Shevchenko University in the city of Tiraspol, The archeological department of the nature reserve in the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi, The National Museum of History of Ukraine, The Kharkov Regional Historical Museum, The Kyiv Regional Archeological Museum, and the Platar Collection

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Chapter 2

From the Antes to Rus

Five “dark ages” from the history of the Land In the second part we continue the sketches from the ancient history of Ukraine. The first part “Ukraine: From Trypillia to the Antes.” Was dedicated to the historical epochs which replaced one another for sixty six centuries, from the 6th millennium BC till the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. The second book will cover “only” five hundred years of the history which include the period from the first mention of the tribal alliance of the Antes (375) till the appearance of information about Rus (approximately in the middle of the 9th century). This is why the book was called “From the Antes to Rus”. It’s worth noting that as compared to more ancient epochs there is much more written evidence regarding these centuries – from official documents, chronicles, annals to notes of merchants and hagiographies of Christian saints and also legends, sagas and bylinas which were written in later times. However, even basing on relatively numerous evidence and messages it is not that easy to form a clear picture of the past. Sometimes the versions of events which are described in different sources are contradictory. And the interpretations of these messages by researchers are even more contradictory. And we managed to find out about some of the events solely thanks to archeological excavations. In autumn of 1973, after finishing school, I managed to find a job in an archeological expedition1. Then, near the village of Nitsakha which is in the Sumy region it was the first time I had seen the traces of the life of the time of “dark ages”, had heard the names of archeological cultures and the stories about the history of these lands in the 8th–the 13th centuries. The remains of buildings which were destroyed a long time ago, broken stoves and molded vessels found in them with the traces of a cord, ceramics which were made on the potter's wheel – all this was created in the times of “annalistic” Severians, Slavic tribes who, according to chroniclers, paid tribute to Khazars – the founders of a huge steppe empire. Grass-covered earth ramparts which were once powerful, the slit of a ditch in which you could see every layer, the stone foundation of the fortification embank1

ment – and there is only a cold autumn wind above all this; it raises clouds of dust after every spade of ground which was thrown on the dump. Another impression from the times of the expedition included the feeling of staying on the bounds of “the civilized world” and “the wildness” of the endless steppes. Sentries once looked into the depth of the steppe from a high bank of the river above which the fortress walls rose, waiting for the raid of “unreasonable Khazars”. It turned out that this impression didn’t quite correspond to the facts. To be more exact, it corresponded to the point of view of the descendants of Polans, Drevlians, Severians and the rest of the residents of the Slavic North. However, they are far from being the only residents of the Land. Its history of that time (just like the previous and the following one) is more complex than just a simple description in school textbooks of the confrontation of “good”, “our native” Slavs and “bad”, “alien” (from “mean” Romei – Byzantines to “enslavers” – Khazars). Fifteen centuries ago the political (and ethnographic) map of the Land differed from the modern one to a considerable extent. The states of Ermanaric and Attila, the country Dori, Kherson and the Byzantine theme of Taurica, Avarian, Western Turkic and Khazar khaganates, Great Bulgaria, tribal unions of the Antes and Sclaveni, the principality of Dulebes, tribal formations of Drevlians and Polans (and many others) – here is an incomplete list of “political fundamentals” of the five hundred year period of the history. Avars, Alans, Bulgars, Goths, Greeks, Slavs, Ugrics, representatives of Baltic and Turkic tribes considered the Land to be their Motherland at that time. Here more than one thousand years ago their great and mighty rulers were born, sovereigns whose names were included not only to the pages of ancient chronicles written in different languages, but also to the epos of many peoples of Europe and Asia found their shelter (or death) here. Just like before, in those ancient times it was here that “the zones of vital interests” of great empires the names of which have survived only in historical works, in

Archeological studies of ancient settlements and villages near the village of Nitsakha of the Trostianets district of the Sumy region were conducted by the doctor of historical sciences Oleg Vasylyovych Sukhobokov. I am indebted to him for the first acquaintance with the archeology of the time of early Slavs and Rus. Later the results of these studies were published in the monograph: О. В. Сухобоков. Дніпровське Лісостепове Лівобережжя у VIII—IX ст. — К., 1992 (O.V. Sukhobokov. Dnieper Forest-Steppe Livoberezhya in the 8th–the 9th centuries).

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Excavations of a sanctuary in the Starokyivska Hora, 1907. The picture by V. V. Khvoika. The Scientific archives of the Institute of archeology of the NAS of Ukraine

ancient bylinas and legends intersected. However, then it was reality which was sometimes grand and sometimes sanguinary and the destinies of not only many thousands of people, but of whole peoples within the boundaries of the Land were periodically determined somewhere in Constantinople, Atil, Bagdad and other capitals the names of most of which are now known to the experts on the history of the early Middle Ages. Only names remained from some cities as archeologists are still looking for the location of the city Atil (Itil), the capital of once powerful Khazaria. Once there were such circumstances that in 632 one of the rulers of nomads (Bulgars), khan Kubrat, acquired the title of a patrician from the Byzantine ruler whom he helped to fight with Avars. It is thought that the ruler of Khazars who was hostile to Bulgars received confirmation of the title of “a khagan” from the Chinese emperor instead. According to the rules of that time it meant that the power of the emperor of the Celestial Empire extended (in this case, of course, quite formally) Gold adornments and fragments of vessels, rusty instruments of labor and weapons – witnesses of past times

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to the territory of the person who had acquired the corresponding title or rank. So, after the events of 632 described above a border (according to the views of that time) between the territories of two empires: the Byzantine and the Celestial one went through the territory of the Land. It can be quite difficult to find the original place of antiquities found by archeologists in this complex historical-political picture. Quite a lot of efforts were applied, for example, to determine the archeological cultures which would correspond to the so-called “pre-state” period of the history of Slavs and then to find out the origin of these cultures. Sometimes the antiquities which were declared to be “Antean” or to belong to “the Rus” eventually appeared among those which belonged to nomadic peoples. Burial places with cremations which were found in the mountains of the Crimea and were initially declared to be Slavic, appeared to belong to Goths who resettled here as far back as during “the Scythian wars”. The find

Five “dark ages” from the history of the Land

Excavations of the early Slavic metallurgical center on Zaliznyi island near Haivoron. The picture from the report of V.I. Bidzilya. The Scientific archives of the Institute of archeology of the NAS of Ukraine

near the Dnieper rapids which was considered to be a burial place of the Kyiv knyaz Sviatoslav turned out to be a commemoration temple which had been built in honor of a rule of either Bulgars or of Khazars who is not known to us as far back as two hundred odd years before the birth of the bellicose ruler of Rus. Sometimes scientists and the conclusions they made regarding those or other finds were influenced by these or other political guidelines “from above”. Quite a lot of such examples can be found in the domestic archeology of “the dark ages”. Such things happened in the science both in the 19th century and in the 20th century and they still happen now. This is an old tradition as both one thousand and a half years and one thousand years ago book pub-

lishers presented (and described) not so distant past in a different way, to say nothing about working “on a byorder basis” and also according to their own views and perception of the world. The first sections of this book present the first data and archeological evidence which are connected with the appearance of Slavs on the historical arena of Europe under the name of Veneti and then Antes. In order to present this information, we had to go back to the events which were partially described in the last sections of the first book, to describe in greater detail the Gothic state on the territory of the Land and the conflict of its ruler with Antes. The plot is classical – while two parties are sorting out their relationship, “a third force” appears and sweeps Miniatures from ancient annals and chronicles

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus A field journal of the expedition which studied early Slavic settlements on the river Seym. The Scientific archives of the Institute of archeology of the NAS of Ukraine

away everybody. This time a tribal union of Huns which reached the peak of its might in the 5th century during the reign of Attila became such a force. When the past borders were reshaped forever within the biggest part of the European continent, both Antes and proud descendants of Gothic kings had to look for their place, to say nothing about other residents of the Land. And part of them appeared quite far in the West of Europe and some of them even reached North Africa. That’s why in the section dedicated to Huns and their state we had to describe places and events which are quite distant from the present borders of the Land. A separate section is dedicated to the searches of the ancestral home of Slavs who were conducted by representatives of different scientific disciplines – history,

archeology, linguistics, classical anthropology and even molecular biology. The received results at the beginning of the 21st century made it possible to determine the location of the mysterious “ancestral home” from which once Slavic tribes extended to Europe (and as it turned out, not only to Europe). A considerable part of this ancestral home is located on the territory of Ukraine.

Archeological studies on the territory of Ukraine, the 1950s-1960s of the 20th century. The picture from the Scientific archives of the Institute of archeology of the NAS of Ukraine

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Early Slavic ceramics. The exposition of the Museum of archeology of the Institute of archeology of the NAS of Ukraine

The tribal union of Antes is mentioned most of all in historical sources of the 6th–the beginning of the 7th century. The traces of Antes were found not only on the pages of ancient chronicles, but also in the lands where they had settled one hundred odd years before. Treasures and population, ancient settlements – all this was found and more importantly, was identified by researchers; so, now we can envisage the Antean age in great detail. Kyiv occupies a special place in the history of the Land. The legend about its foundation which was written hundreds of years ago still makes restless those who try to determine when and how this city appeared. There are so many materials that we hardly managed to limit them to two sections. Since Kyiv was not the only city which was built by ancient Slavs on the territory of the Land, but the names of most of them haven’t survived. The dramatic history of such a city which was restored solely thanks to archeological studies is described in the next section which is dedicated to the ancient settlement Pastyrske.

Two sections are dedicated to the history of Sclaveni, their settlement in the lands of Europe and also to complex relations with nomads-Avars – “Obrs” in the ancient Russian chronicles. However, the history of the Land of those times is not limited to the history of Veneti, Antes or Sclaveni, the history of Kyiv or the ancient settlement Pastyrske at all. In the South, in Taurica, they were not very interested in the affairs of distant northern territories which were only mentioned by merchants in their incredible tales. They had their own political passions here. Once independent poleis and kingdoms finally appeared under the firm hand of emperors who ruled on the banks of the Bosporus. Only Constantinople, its powerful fleet and invincible army, could defend and save Kherson (once a free city of Chersonesos), other big and small cities from barbarians who came from the North or the East. The descendants of Goths and Alans who lived in the mountains and steppes of the peninsula strived for this relatively small island of Ancient and modern monuments – witnesses of the history of the Land

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus stability without forgetting about their own benefit, of course. The next four sections are dedicated to this life on the border of two worlds, the new age and the Christian faith which had penetrated here. In the surrounding steppes the times of Scythia and Sarmatia could seem the periods of stagnation or striking stability. At first nomadic hordes (by the way the very word “horde” which meant an army of nomads appeared in the lexicon of the peoples of the Land in those times) and khaganates changed a few times per century. The traces of stormy political events are wealthy “treasures” of precious vessels, jewelry and weapons most of which appeared to be burial places or commemoration temples. The disputes of scientists concerning the belonging of these treasures to these or other tribes and sometimes even to certain historical persons still continue. The same thing happened to the Pereshchepyna treasure which was found on the territory of the Poltava region. It was declared to be the burial place of khan Kubrat, the founder of the state of ancient Bulgars, “Great Bulgaria”. There is also another opinion regarding the belonging of the Pereshchepyna treasure, to be more exact, the opinion that it belonged to early Khazars. A separate section is dedicated to this subject.

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The history was that one part of the territories of the Land was included into the Khazar khaganate and the other one paid tribute to it. It is in the East of the Land that archeologists found not only numerous burial places of that age, but also one of the biggest cities of Khazaria which is now known as the ancient settlement Saltovka near Kharkov. Another four sections are dedicated to the description of antiquities and separate events connected with the khaganate. The final sections describe the life of Slavic tribes of the Land in the times which preceded the appearance of Rus and its residents (the Rus). Polans and Drevlians, Volhynians and White Croats, Ulichs, Severians and Tivertsi – all of them successfully created small and big unions each of which in the future might as well become an independent principality or a kingdom, by the way not the smallest one according to the European standards. And when the states called “Polania”, “Siveria”, “Drevlian” and others didn’t appear on the political map of Europe, we owe it to the new age, Rus and its residents (the Rus). But this is quite a different story, subjects for further sections and stories. Mykhailo Videiko

Section 1

About ancient Slavs

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uite a lot of details from the history of Slavs have survived thanks to neighbors who described not only the places where they lived, but also some circumstances (by the way, not always peaceful ones) concerning their closer acquaintance with them. Archeologists, in their turn, for more than one hundred years have been looking for – and find – the traces of that distant epoch, the time of the formation of the ancient Slavic world. It turned out that it is not that easy to restore the verisimilar picture of those times on the basis of short and tangled written evidence and finds which were discovered during excavations.

From Veneti to Antes In those distant times when the Roman Empire was not at the zenith of might yet, within the eyesight of Romans there were representatives of different tribes who lived near its borders and periodically crossed them, and they didn’t always do it in a peaceful way. Just like before, we find the ancient name “Scythia” in scientific works of those times. However, that Scythia, according to ancient authors, was sometimes inhabited not by Scythians, but,

for example, by Gepids. And somewhere far in the North, behind the Danube (along which there was a border at that time) and also behind the mountains “from the place of the birth of the river Vistula, on illimitable space a numerous tribe of Veneti settled”. According to other messages, in the North the border of the settlement of mysterious Veneti reached the shore of the Baltic Sea. In Latin texts you can find different versions of this name: VENEDI, VENETHAE, VENETHI. True, it is not always clear whether they are speaking about the same tribe

Veneti in Europe

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Barbarians who bring gifts to the emperor-victor. The fragment of a casket, the 4th century

or we are dealing with mistakes which are usual when rewriting texts during many following centuries. The interesting thing is that some Romans doubted whether to attribute Veneti to Germanic peoples or to Sarmatians. It’s worth giving proper respect to “scientific” criteria which the experts of ancient European ethnography used when solving this question: it is known that these tribes fight dismounted, carry shields and live in a stationary dwelling, so we cannot consider them Sarmatians. Why? Because it is known to everybody: Sarmatians fight mounted, live in tents and roam from one place to another. It’s worth noting that such details as, for example, the language or customs of neighbors-barbarians were not taken into account at all. However, it’s worth mentioning that there are diverse opinions regarding the fact who Veneti really are. Who are we speaking in the first place – about the people or the tribal union? Veneti – is it how they called themselves or how this people (tribes) was called by neighbors? In the lands from the Baltic Sea to the Vistula and farther to the East a few archeological cultures which are somewhat similar and are different in many respects are known. Other peoples, for example, Germanic peoples, Balts are also mentioned in the works of ancient authors in connection with these lands. So, under certain circumstances all of them could as well be included into the tribal union of Veneti. Besides, it becomes clear from later messages that as time passed, the meaning of the notion “Veneti” changed depending on a situation and circumstances. The language and culture of the people who were called Veneti changed in the same way. How did they manage to determine that those Veneti-Venedi have something in common with Slavs? It turned out that in later works of ancient authors you can find comments concerning the fact that these tribes depending on their location, i.e. the territory of their living, were called Sclaveni and Antes. Now historians have no doubt concerning “Sclaveni” or “Sclavini”; they are Slavs. The case with Antes is not so easy, but they have been included into Slavic genealogy for quite a long time too. Thus it seems that as far back as one thousand and a half years ago

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Europeans knew about numerous Slavic tribes who had different names. It is not that difficult to find the mentioned above river Vistula on the modern map of Europe. This is quite a long river; it runs from the Carpathian Mountains to the Baltic Sea, just like two thousand years ago. For the last centuries only three letters have fallen out from its name and now it sounds like “Visla”. The name of another big river was changed to a greater extent. Danapr turned into Dnieper. By the way, it is the ancient Slavic names of rivers – hydronyms –that (together with archeology) are one of the few reference points in the search of the mysterious ancestral home of many peoples who now inhabit a considerable part of modern Europe. Experts, having gathered and analyzed the messages of Roman authors starting with Tacitus and Ptolemaeus, determined that for the first time Veneti appeared in the eyesight of educated neighbors approximately in the second half of the 1st century AD. And it is more likely that we are speaking about the territory which is connected with the middle reach of the Western Buh, the western part of Volhynia, Polissya and Podillya. In the East this land could as well stretch to the Dnieper.

Cassiodorus, the author of works in which there are mentions about Veneti, Antes and Sclaveni. A miniature from a Byzantine manuscript

Section 1. About ancient Slavs Adornments with enamels. Middle Dnieper area, the 4th–the 5th century

Archeological searches of Veneti In the first centuries AD on the mentioned above lands there are settlements and cemeteries of a few archeological cultures which different researchers suggest connecting with Veneti of Roman authors1. These are settlements and burial grounds of Przeworsk, Zubra, Zarubyntsi cultures, the culture of the type Etulia and also separate variants of the Chernyakhiv culture. They are connected partially or completely, one way or another, with Veneti and are considered to be Slavic, of course. All the cultures, in their turn, have their roots in the preceding period, sometimes mutual ones and sometimes separate ones depending on the territory. And besides, the routes of the bearers of all the mentioned above archeological cultures intersected one way or another at different times (and under different circumstances). Disputes continue concerning the fact exactly what culture from the ones which were mentioned above is “the most Slavic”. Moreover, researchers have to overcome practically the same doubts as Romans two thousand years ago, for example, whether to include Veneti-Venedi into the number of Germanic peoples or not. And modern researchers have at their disposal such sources (and arguments) as the remains of ancient buildings which decayed a long time ago, burial places, adornments, molded vessels (mostly broken a long time ago) and rusty remains of weapons and military equipage. The bearers of the mentioned above archeological cultures had a similar way of life in many respects. They tried to locate settlements nearer to river valleys where there were good meadows – places for pasturing cattle. Part of settlements was situated in high places or on slopes of plateaus which were protected from cold Northern winds. The remains of ancient settlements are situated rather close to the modern surface – at a depth of sometimes only 20-30 cm. For this reason the cultural layer, as a rule, is greatly destroyed as agricultural lands have been here for centuries. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to find Venetic antiquities in a good condition. The settlements are not big with the area from half to one and a half–two hectares. Something like a hamlet or a village.

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And the site development is appropriate. Veneti lived in dwellings deepened in the ground with walls of wood. Such buildings leave traces in the form of small foundation pits with holes from posts which are dug in the corners. Where these posts are situated from one another for the distance of 60–80 cm probably there was a door. The sizes of buildings were determined by the parameters of the construction materials. For construction they used logs with the length from 4 to 5 m – practically the modern standard for “carving wood”. The ground floor was leveled and rammed thoroughly by hosts. Inside buildings they found the traces of hearths. They are situated in small hollows in the middle of a dwelling. They often used stones (where they were available) for their construction. Such hearths conserved heat longer as when heated properly stones would heat the room long after the fire died out. Besides, such a hearth made it possible to air the room and preserve heat as they had no chimneys and windows – in order to air a room they used doors. This is how thoughtful hosts saved heat at that time. They also found the traces of above-ground utility constructions with the area from 5–12 to 20 square meters. Woven walls of such constructions were clayed. There they could keep cattle, store supplies of forage and food. Near their dwellings they constructed storehouses – grain holes. In the settlement Khrinnyky they excavated the remains of an ancient smoking shed. In the middle of this room they found a big pit with a collapsed bottom. Along the perimeter of the walls they left boards on which they could put twigs with meat or fish threaded on them. A molded vessel of the Kyiv archeological culture, the 4th century

The modern vision of the “Veneti question” on the basis of a complex analysis of sources including written ones and also archeological researches is given in the book: Д. Козак. Венеди. — Київ, 2008 (D. Kozak. Veneti).

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An adornment with enamels. Middle Dnieper area, the 3rd–the 4th century

Probably they also made grids of twigs on which they could put meat, mushrooms and fruit. They grew cereal crops on the banks of rivers and also on sites which were cleared from the forest. For this reason they had to relocate settlements to a new place from time to time – the land is exhausted too quickly when using such a way of management. As a result, such crops occupied considerable territories. Veneti knew how to use arable instruments including the ones with iron cultivator points. The latter were used in combination with ploughs with a runner which allowed making quite a quality and deep tillage. Paleobotanic researches which were conducted in the settlements of the Zubra culture may suggest the range of cereals. Here they found a considerable amount of impressions of corn seeds on ceramics. Most of them are impressions of millet, the second place is occupied by emmer, then glumaceous barley. They also knew how to grow spelt, rye, peas and oats. By the way, it is this mixture that it called “mangcorn”. It produces stable crops even under the most unfavorable conditions. They also found not numerous impressions of soft wheat which dominated in the Roman agrarian sector at that time, but for some reason didn’t take root in the land of their neighbors-barbarians. Veneti were skilled smiths. They found the traces of smithcraft which was based on their own production of ball iron. It was obtained from bog iron ore. Armorers knew the

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techniques of making blades of strips of iron of different rigidity. A dagger which was found in a burial place of the chief in the village of Hryniv had been made of one and a half dozen workpieces. Even ordinary knives were forged from high-carbon steel and points of arrows were welded from different sorts of metal. Researchers found an arrow point the steel thorn of which was welded to a softer rod. Such achievements of the Venetic metallurgy are connected by some scientists with the influence of neighbors-Celts who are famous for their achievements in this field. The traces of the work of jewelers such as casting molds and crucibles were also found. For the Kyiv culture quite numerous finds of adornments with enamels are known. Bronze products with colored insertions look splendid. Researchers dispute whether Middle Dnieper area was the center of the production of these beautiful things or this tradition (and products themselves) came from the North, from the Baltic states. There are quite a lot of such finds there too. Taking into account the length of the borders of the Venetic union which reached the shores of the Baltic Sea in the North, there is nothing strange in such a connection (and relations). In some dwellings they found the remains of weaving looms during excavations. Clay plummets remained from them, just like the ones in the Trypillian culture as the looms remained vertical. So, Veneti wore not only leather, but also fabric and also liked to adorn themselves. The vessels they made were not very presentable as compared to the ones which were made by their neighborsRomans. They almost didn’t use the potter's wheel; they molded everything by hand. Every family was engaged in the production of ceramics such as pots and bowls. In the settlements they also found ceramics of the so-called provincial-Roman type which had been made on the potter’s wheel and not numerous fragments of amphorae. The diversity of the forms of vessels in different regions of the Venetic world corresponds to the ethnographic mixed character of this political rather than ethnic union.

Veneti at war The need for periodical change of the land could contribute to the fact that the society was in the state of permanent war. I t was necessary both to protect the fields cleared from the forest and to capture the lands of the neighbors when necessary. All this contributed to the development of rather specific skills and ways of waging war. This was a forest, partisan war to the complete annihilation. The fact that ancient Slavs were good at ambushes, war ruse and sudden attacks was described by many of

Section 1. About ancient Slavs

Reconstruction and iron parts of a shield (the Przeworsk culture), the 2nd–the 3rd century

their contemporaries and even by the participants of battle clashes. The weapons which were found during the excavations of burial grounds and settlements absolutely correspond to this tactics. First of all, these are types of weapons which are intended for hitting the enemy at a distance. Most of all they found points of arrows and among them there were such types which are characteristic of nomads. So, they used bows of an appropriate design. This choice is clear and good as since the Scythian times “shooting weapons” had been the best in their class. They found quite a lot of points for darts, the weapon which can hit even the enemy who is protected by armor at a medium distance. However, according to ancient authors, Slavs were rather skillful at using darts and spears even in a hand-to-hand clash. The mention of ancient authors about the fact that Slavs carry big shields corresponds to the set of hand-held throwing weapons. And what is the other way of protecting yourself from lethal arrows and darts? Mostly massive iron shield bosses which are similar to a hat with wide brims remained from such shields. This item reinforced the center of a shield which was made of wood. From the internal side they made a handle of wood or even of iron – this way it was more

Iron points and the reconstruction of darts and arrows (the Zarubyntsi culture), the 1st–the 2nd century

reliable and convenient and it was easier to clasp it with a hand. Such a shield is not just a means which protects its owner from arrows and darts. In skillful hands this is a lethal weapon the blow of which can stun or even strike down the enemy. Even if your head is protected with a metal helmet, the blow delivered at it with the help of an iron shield boss can bring unforgettable feelings and rather sad results. There are not numerous finds of swords and daggers of “European” patterns. Only five such finds are connected with the Venetic age on the territory of the Land. Swords with the length from 75 to 92 cm are intended for striking chopping blows – their tips are rounded. These are weapons of horse warriors which are typical of Germanic tribes of that epoch. One of the swords which was found in a burial place of the Przeworsk culture in the village of Zvenyhorod (the Lviv region) resembles a weapon of a Sarmatian. Its length is 58 cm, its point is quite capable of striking piercing blows and its hilt is topped with a ring. It is thought that this trophy was probably captured during a clash with bellicose Sarmatians somewhere in Dnister area. A bronze adornment of the sheath of a sword which was found in a burial place of the Przeworsk culture. The Lviv region

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Helmets of the age of the great migration of peoples. Modern reconstruction

A cast bronze plate which once decorated the sheath of a sword was found in a burial place of a noble warrior in the village of Hryniv near Lviv. According to researchers, it was made by a local craftsman somewhere in Dnister area. In their opinion, this adornment is made to order. On five tiers of the plate the ancient skilled craftsman placed the images of animals and people. At the bottom there is a horse warrior with a spear who is protected with a small round shield. In the middle of the tier there are two human figures facing each other. The rest are the images of animals both real and fictional. We can say that Venetic warriors and especially their chiefs, just like all the servicemen of ancient times, liked spectacularly adorned weapons. Between the first mention about Veneti and the explanation that actually by their nature they are the same “present” Antes and Sclaveni there are a few hundreds of years of rather stormy European history. Quite a lot of events occurred for this time. Among them are conquering campaigns of the emperor Trajan against Dacians and their state, then the Marcomannic Wars which brought quite a lot of trouble to Romans. Once Veneti also tried to make war on Rome – in the second half of the 3rd century. Then they took advantage of the circumstance that emperors replaced one another if not every year than once per a few years.

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However, it turned out that even the weakened empire was strong enough to offer resistance to Veneti. So, the emperor Volusianus (251–253 AD) during his rather short ruling managed to obtain the title “Venetic”. Coins with appropriate inscriptions were minted in honor of this victory. Of course, the lost wars didn’t have a favorable effect on the destiny of Veneti. Although Romans themselves never managed to reach the primordial territories of Veneti, however, Sarmatians and Goths managed to do it (on their way to the Roman territories). Sarmatians did it coming from the North and Goths did it coming from the South and East. For instance, Goths intruded into the Venetic-Antean territories more than once or twice – there are messages of ancient authors about at least three such raids. First the Gothic troops, moving from “Gotiskandza to Scythia”, visited the lands of Polissya and Volhynia. Although they were supposed to meet Veneti on the Vistula already after their coming from Scandza. This meeting was hardly peaceful and good-neighborly – after all we are speaking about the possession of lands. Then king Hermanarich expanding the borders of his state waged war on Veneti. According to the historian Jordanes, at first Veneti tried to offer some resistance, hoping for the numerical force of their army. Nonetheless, they were defeated. Goths who gained victory decided that these adversaries were not “suited for war” at all. It is quite difficult to say now whether this was true or not. However, the appearance in North Black Sea region of monuments of the type Etulia, the disappearance and “the reformatting” of a few archeological cultures in Volhynia and in Dnister area are connected by archeologists with the mentioned above victories of the Gothic weapons. Perhaps as a result of these stormy events Veneti disappear and disperse as a considerable and powerful tribal union and give place to Antes. True, the remembrance of them remained as educated people even one hundred years later, explaining who Antes and Sclaveni actually were, reminded that there were times all of them had the same name. The emperor Volusianus, the victor of Veneti as the inscription on the coin says

Section 2

The first appearance of Antes

fter the death of the great king Hermanarich his successor had to go on a military campaign already not to the lands of the once conquered Veneti, but to lands of Antes. And it can suggest that the previous victories of the Gothic weapons were not either complete or final. Moreover, their neighbors clearly managed to come to an agreement and decided to defend their independence with weapons in their hands. In a stubborn struggle Goths gained victory over Antes and disposed of their elite in a violent way with the purpose of intimidation. However, as it often happens in such situations, a third party – Huns, appeared to be the real victors. Both the victors-Goths and the defeated Antes had to submit to them.

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Antes, Boz and Goths There were quite a lot of researchers who wanted to ascertain in greater detail who exactly Antes are, where they came from and where their big name comes from. To say nothing about what archeological culture from the list of the ones which are already known corresponds to them. And it turned out that the situation both with the name and the archeology is not that simple. The most ancient (according to the time of events) mention about them is given in the work of Jordanes “About the origin and deeds of Getae”. So, Antes on the pages of “History” are described as the enemies of the Gothic king Vinitari who wages war against them. The dramatic events take place against the backdrop of the appearance on the territories of the Land of new conquerors – Huns. Even at such a critical moment its residents, as it often happened before, didn’t find a better thing to do other than sorting out their relationship. When they started looking for the origin of the ethnicon “Antes”, it turned out that it is quite possible that this word is not Slavic at all, but… Sarmatian or as they say – “of the Iranianspeaking origin”. Well, it is a known fact that bellicose Sarmatians were neighbors of Slavs. And ancient historians might as well use the first name

which they came across. The word “Antes” can be translated as “extreme”, i.e. the ones who live somewhere in the outskirts of the territory which is occupied by the authors of this name, in this case – Iranian-speaking Sarmatians-Alans. Right after this doubts aroused whether we are speaking about Slavs in this case in the first place. And probably some Sarmatian, Alan tribe was “extreme”? Jassic people-Alans lived between the Prut and the Dniester, didn't they? Nonetheless, this assumption was contradicted by other messages about Slavs. On the other hand, in ancient times such ethnicons could be attributed not to a separate tribe, but to a tribal union, a formation (under certain circumstances) which was more political than ethnical. Such unions were formed more than once for waging war, when resettling or as may be necessary for uniting

Probable places of the stay of Antes in the 4th century

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus against the hostile invasion. And while doing so, the strongest participant of this alliance extended its name to all the participants of such a union. In this case it is the name that played quite an important role, especially when this was a rather known “brand” in the surrounding world. Something like that already happened on the territory of the Land in the times when almost all its residents were called “Scythians”. Budini, Helonians and others didn’t seem to be against being identified under certain circumstances as bellicose nomads who had an appropriate reputation among neighbors. It seems that the same thing happened in the Land when Goths came here and then Huns. Taking into account this fact, “Antes” don’t seem an exception here at all. When Goths came to the Land from the North, then the formation of a powerful military alliance between Sarmatians who lived here and Slavs looked quite an appropriate step. The “extreme” tribe from among Alans might as well head this union relying on the strength of horse detachments. And the fact that some time later under certain circumstances Slavs started dominating in the union is another, later story. Now let’s go back to the first mention about Antes as it gives certain grounds for calculating the possible number of the enemies of the Gothic kingdom, the position of their king and even considerations concerning the structure of the anti-Gothic alliance. Usually the extract from “History” of Jordanes which describes the war of the Gothic king Vinitari against Antes is translated in the following way: “Vinitari… sent his troops to the territories of Antes and when he entered them, he was defeated in the first battle, but later he started acting more resolutely and crucified their king Boz with his sons and with seventy elders with the purpose of intimidation so that the dead bodies of the crucified doubled the fear of the conquered”. It is from here, from this small extract that all the stories about the powerful knyaz of Antes Boz presented in many works of the domestic history and described more vividly in numerous works of outstanding writers originate. However, when comparing the original with the translation, not everything is so simple and clear. If you find the text of the original (and thanks to the Internet this task is not that difficult, what matters is your will), then you can be convinced of that easily. Since the educated Goth wrote his “History” in Latin. This is how that very extract of

A silver fibula from a burial place of the Chernyakhiv culture, the 4th century

“History” looks like: “...in Antorum fines movit procinctum, eosque dum adgreditur prima congressione superatus, deinde fortiter egit regemque eorum Boz nomine cum filiis suis et LXX primatibus in exemplum terroris adfixit, ut dediticiis metum cadavera pendentium geminarent.” Here are differences. You shouldn’t look for such words as “king” (rex) or “elders” in this extract – there are no such words there at all. Since in order to indicate social fundamentals Jordanes used the terminology which was adopted in the Roman Empire. In the original Boz is indicated as the one who “reigned” (or “ruled”) – “regemque”. Of course, this word has the same root as the word rex, but still for some reason this is not “king”. And “elders” are called “primatibus”, i.e. “first”, probably “the best people” of their tribe. So, it turns out that in reality the title of the kingknyaz was given to Boz by the translators of this ancient text. It is not clear whether his contemporaries, for example, Goths or Romans, recognized this title. Boz who “ruled them”, i.e. ruled Antes, could be one of the tribal chiefs or even “a field commander”, a battle master who didn’t have any appropriate sonorous title at all. For instance, in the works of Jordanes (and again it is easy to check it if you have the text of “History” in Latin) supreme rulers of Goths, Vandals, Gepids (to say nothing about Egyptian pharaohs, even the ancient rulers of Scythia and Babylonia) – all of them received the title “rex”, i.e. “king” from the educated Goth. As for Antes, they didn’t have their own king-rex. Probably the thing is that Goths themselves didn’t consider the Antean union to have the status of a kingdom, especially a kingdom which was independent of the kingdom of Hermanarich. Since he conquered already Veneti with the help of the force of the weapons, regardless of their numerical force. So, what kings can the descendants of the conquered have? As for “elders” who turned out to be “first”, they can speak about both the tribal, clannish elite and just about warriors-men-at-arms of the ruler – the military elite of Antes. If these are tribal chiefs, then we have quite a considerable union in front of us. As in this case, behind each of these “first people” there might be at least 3,000–5,000 fellow tribesmen. If we multiply these figures by the number 70 mentioned by Jordanes, then we will get from 210 to 350 thousand Antes. This figure is rather impressive as for that time, since in the years of “the Scythian wars” which took place as far back as one century before the first mention about Antes all “the people of Goths” went

Bracelets and fibulas – fasteners for cloaks, probably belonged to Goths, the 5th century

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Section 2. The first appearance of Antes on a campaign to the lands of the Empire approximately with the same amount of people. In this case Antes could as well offer a few dozens of thousands of warriors and had (with wise leadership) big chances of destroying the Gothic kingdom in an open confrontation. However, in case when we speak about elders as the leaders of clans, then the total number of Antes was supposed to be by an order less, within the limits of 20–40 thousand people. It was enough to offer a few thousand warriors, to wage a long partisan war, even to gain victory under certain circumstances in the first battle, but it was not enough to repulse a more powerful enemy, Goths. If we look at the following stream of events, then it seems that the Antean union had a relatively modest military potential during this war.

The boundaries of “the Antean land” Where were those “boundaries of Antes” situated where the Gothic king sent his troops? There are different thoughts concerning their location. Some people think that battle operations were conducted somewhere in the South, not far from the shore of the Sea of Azov or the Black Sea, or on the left bank of the Dnieper, next to the main territories of Goths which neighbored upon the lands inhabited by Alans. Some other more public-spirited researchers look for the place for the lands of Antes somewhere in Middle Dnieper area, closer to the river Ros – so to say, on “the primordial Slavic lands”. For instance, the residents of the village of Syniava which is situated in the Rokytne district of the Kyiv region think that the war of Antes with Goths took place in their lands. In the outskirts of the village there is Boz Mountain. In their opinion here, on Boz Mountain, “according to folk legends”, the ruler of Antes took his martyrlike death. And really, if we change the places of these two words in the mentioned above name, we will get a phrase which corresponds to the historical event: “Mountain of Boz”. They even already put up a monument in this historical place. This is a big block of grey granite which is situated at the exit from the village. A bronze low relief is fastened to the stone; under it there is an inscription which says that this monument is put up by the residents of the Rokytne district “in honor of the people of Antes – the ancestors of Ukrainians”. It’s worth saying that you can find quite a lot of such Boz Mountains in Ukraine. On the other hand, it is difficult to find the traces of events that happened 1600 years ago, relying solely on “folk legends” which really cover at most 200–300 years. And if only there were some material traces… However, archeologists have been silent as no excavations in the outskirts of the village of Syniava which could confirm or refute “folk legends” have been carried

out. On the other hand, to look for the place of the battle or execution of the Antean elite is not easy, if not hopeless. However, there is some information concerning archeological fundamentals of that epoch in the Rokytne district. Firstly, near the village they found the traces of two settlements of the Chernyakhiv culture. A monument in honor of The first one in the Antes near the village of forest, in the area Syniava of the Rokytne called Monastyrysche, district of the Kyiv region the other in the West, on the bank of the river Ros. All in all as many as 24 Chernyakhiv settlements are known in the Rokytne district and two burial grounds were found. Now let us remind you that numerous Chernyakhiv antiquities of the Kyiv region (and as many as 400 are known here, among them there are settlements and burial grounds) are connected by experts with the settling… of Goths. On the other hand, it’s worth mentioning that there are traces of the contact with the bearers of a number of other cultures. And none of the scientists objects that behind the Chernyakhiv antiquities in different districts there could be different tribes which were once united by the force of weapons. And the community of culture which strikes the eye so much is, so to say, a result of the policy of “the center”, the social-economic development. However, Goths were most likely the main “leading force” in this district. But in the event that the bearers of the Chernyakhiv culture of the Kyiv region are really Goths, it turns out that in the time of Boz the Rokytne district was rather densely inhabited by fellow tribesmen of king Vinitari and not by Antes. It is their traces (if we mean, following some archeologists, the Kyiv archeological culture by Antes of that time) that haven’t been found in this district yet. In other words, the campaign to Syniava was in no way an incursion into the lands of Antes, but a raid to the native Gothic lands. Doesn’t it mean that it’s really worth looking for the “boundaries of Antes” in some other place? Or it turns out that Vinitari just tried to recapture “the primordial Gothic” lands from conquerors-Antes? If it were so, Jordanes would most likely indulge in declaring this war launched by his fellow countryman “liberation” against “the Antean conquerors”. However, instead the historian pointed out that this was an incursion into the boundaries of somebody else’s lands.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Metal adornments of a belt which belonged to a warrior-nomad. The 4th–the 5th century

suit Antes either as well as the retreat from their native forests or steppes somewhere far to the North. However, some part of the population of Dnieper area went up hill and down dale as far back as in the times of Hermanarich. The reasons for the Gothic-Antean war are As a result of this, as some researchers think, the Imenkovo explained in a different way. And modern historians archeological culture which was spread on the frontier teremphasize more on the fact that “Antes rebelled” in order ritory with modern Russia might appear. to throw off the hated by Slavs Gothic yoke. However, So, the desperate repulse which was offered by Jordanes describes everything in a different way – that it Antes and also the cruelty with which Vinitari acted can was Vinitari who unreasonably intruded into the territories be explained to a certain extent. The stakes in this fight of Antes and thus, it was him who became the initiator of were too high as adversaries fought for survival, fought this conflict. Perhaps the ruler of Goths thought that he desperately. However, the finale of the conflict appeared had the right to act this way, remembering the past suborto be sad for all its participants. The Antean army was dination of the entire Land to the great king Hermanarich? defeated and its chiefs were executed violently. Did it And he didn’t care about the fact that Antes could have intimidate Antes? Hardly so, since Jordanes doesn’t write another point of view on this situation. anything about their further voluntary submission to So, some lands including the ones in Dnieper area Goths. On the contrary, Antes disappear from the pages of which probably were once inhabited by Goths, but were the history for some time. And as for Goths, they suffered abandoned as a result of offensive multi-year campaignsa crushing defeat from the new rulers of the Land, Huns. resettlements and inhabited by Antes later might as well Archeologists date the death of the settlements of become “the apple of discord”. And perhaps Antes are a the Chernyakhiv culture in Dnieper area including the new coalition of tribes which set a goal to gain independones in the Kyiv region to the last quarter of the 4th centuence from the Gothic kingdom which for some time conquered the tribes from the Baltic Sea to the Sea of Azov? ry, i.e. the time after the ill-fated year of 375. In many setSince upon the death of Hermanarich the kingdom started tlements they found rather evident traces of fire. These are splitting into parts both because of internal discords and the finds of burnt clay coating for walls among the under the pressure of powerful enemies. remains of which there were remains of simple utensils – The need of Vinitari for bringing back “the primordial” vessels, weaving looms. However, there are no skeletons lands is explained very easily. The invasion of Huns threw of the dead among the ruins and there are no more or less the new Gothic authorities into a dilemma – to yield or to try precious things, treasures and weapons either. It seems to defend their independence, the past might of the kingdom. that people managed to leave these settlements and probAnd Antes might be very useful here. Firstly, as potential ably they did it without waiting for the punitive campaign allies who can be forced to fight mutually against Huns. of Goths. Quite a lot of people – Goths, Sarmatians – left Secondly, as precious slaves who in case of a successful long-occupied places and went to seek salvation in the “blitzkrieg” can be sold to Romans with profit. The received lands of the Roman Empire at that time. cash could be used not only to try to pay off Huns, but also Skalds and ancient historians didn’t really respect the to buy weapons, to recruit allies and even mercenaries for Gothic king Vinitari. Jordanes mentions that having won two launching a counteroffensive. Finally they could hide from battles, the king died of an arrow shot by a firm hand of the Huns for some time in impassable thickets, so the lands of ruler of Huns Balamber. Goths who in the end stayed in the Antes had to be cleared from the local population. lands of Scythia received king Gesimund as their ruler who All the three versions of the Gothic “anti-crisis had been appointed by Huns. And as for Antes, they disapprogram” could hardly interest Antes and, of course, peared and hid for some time. There are grounds to think that couldn’t find any support among them. Dnieper area they (or some part of them) temporarily became… Huns. tribes already had a sad experience of the fight with There is nothing strange in it as in ancient times connomads-Sarmatians which had led to their subordiquered tribes often joined alliances headed by former nation and later to the union with steppe tribes. All enemies and took the ferocious name of the victors. the more so as Alan tribes in the Caucasus, probaWell, we were Antes – “extreme” for some bly even relatives of the participants of the Antean time, then we became Huns, tomorunion, had already appeared under the reign of row we will become Polans, Huns. In the first case Antes would have to Volhynians and if it is necesfight against their own relatives for Gothic sary, we will become Drevlians A part of a horse interests. The prospect of being sold and finally the Rus. There’s nothharness in the Gothic into servitude to Romans couldn’t ing extraordinary here; this is politics. style. The 5th century

What did they fight for?

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Section 3

The Universe drew back in front of them he time of the appearance of Huns on the pages of the European history is the seventies of the 4th century, although separate mentions about nomads with such a name had appeared before. It is known that they came to the lands of Sarmatians from the East. Then the turn of Ostrogoths on the shore of the Sea of Azov had come. Huns also reached the Danube and even the Roman territories in Gaul. It’s worth noting that the plans of their most powerful ruler were not limited even to Gaul. The tribal union of Huns existed almost for one hundred years. Having settled down gradually right in the center of Europe, it subdued not only nomads who spoke different languages, but also grain growers who were not less multilingual – from bellicose Ostrogoths to Slavs. The time had also come for the neighbors; all of them became “Huns”. Having redrawn the political map of the European world, the state of Huns disappeared, having left bad memories about them and also the name of the country – Hungaria, “the country of Huns”. Disputes concerning the fact who exactly Huns were and who the rightful successor to their legacy is still continue.

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Huns: from Scythia to Gaul The incursion of Huns into Scythia started with sonorous victories over the local tribes. The historian writes that all the Scythians who had been taken prisoner as far back as at the beginning of the war were sacrificed to the victory. In other words, they did the same thing as Scythians had done with their enemies some time before. So, once

again the sword of Ares drank quite a lot of blood in the steppes to North of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. The list of the conquered tribes suggests quite a plural composition of the population of the new steppe empire: Alpidzuri, Alcildzuri, Itimari, Tuncarsi and Boisci. Then the turn had come for numerous bellicose Alans who tried to offer some resistance, but were also forced to yield. Even the great king of Goths, Hermanarich, as they say, grew very concerned

The appearance and advance of Huns in Europe, the 4th–the 5th century

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The ruins of a Roman city-fortress on the middle reach of the Danube

about this situation. And his successors and relatives either recognized the power of Huns or ran away to the West, to Europe. Some of them stopped only in Spain. The circumstances of the appearance of Huns in Europe make us look for their homeland somewhere in the East. Researchers find it in the Northern-Western outskirts of the Celestial Empire. Indeed, in Chinese written sources there are a lot of mentions about the people “Xiongnu”. For many centuries it fought, made peace, entered into alliances with the rulers of ancient China. The Chinese estimated skilled warriors and good horse archers in an appropriate way. So, the impressions of Europeans and the residents of China concerning Huns are quite similar in this part. The descriptions of both the way of life and the peculiarities of the foreign policy of Xiongnu-Huns agree in details. The main source of income of the elite of Xiongnu

profit stopped working in a proper way. In other words, there wasn’t enough money for everybody. In such a situation “the nomadic empire” could collapse and its “fragments” would have to start all their “business” almost from zero. Actually one such “fragment” – horde1 which was headed by the ancestors of the most famous (in Europe) ruler of Huns – Attila came to Europe. Taking more and more new tribes, all those Alpidzuri, Alcildzuri, Itimari, Tuncarsi, Boisci, Alans and others in the orbit of its ruling, it expanded military might. However, Huns, having clashed with Gothic kingdoms and then with the empires of Romans, understood quite quickly that they couldn’t do without the bread and infantry of their new subjects. Besides, the steppes here couldn’t be compared with the sizes of the Asian ancestral home of nomads. No matter how fertile the country Hungaria and even the country Scythia is, no matter how many steppes and how much grass there is there, but you can’t feed horses in the amount which is sufficient for the troops and for waging a long war.

Terrible Huns

A diadem from the Hunnish burial place. Northern Black Sea region, the 5th century

was tribute and also generous ambassador’s gifts which it received from China. The rulers of both Roman empires became such “a milking cow” for Huns in Europe. Since such a source of income required constant build of military forces and the enemy was still on the watch, undermining the unity of the elite from inside with the help of intelligence agencies and embassies (which is sometimes the same thing), periodically the adjusted mechanism of receiving 1

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Translated from Hunnish “horde” means “army”.

It’s worth giving a credit to Romans. They knew how to form “the image of the enemy”, presenting it in a disgusting, repulsive way. Those who had never seen nomads in their life might as well believe in such tales that these barbarians cut cheeks of male children with iron in order to learn them to endure pain before they start drinking milk and also to prevent the appearance of hair on the face. And also the fact that Huns “live like brutal animals in a human body” and their faces look like “an ugly piece of cottage cheese with holes instead of eyes”, which might as well frighten barbarians who are used to everything. A Hunnish bow. Reconstruction with the use of a bone part which was found in a burial place of the 5th century

Section 3. The Universe drew back in front of them The harness of a battle horse which was found in a Hunnish burial place near Kerch. The Crimea, the 5th century

True, the reports of professional Roman diplomats didn’t contain such vivid details as they worked for the authority. In Rome and Constantinople they needed accurate information and not “scary” tales about how terrible those Huns were. That’s why they reported that although the new enemies were not tall, but they were good horsemen who “spent almost all their life in the saddle”. All of them were also good horse archers. Huns, just like Scythians, treated a bow with special respect. The finds of such a weapon completely made of gold are known. Of course, such products served not for battle operations, but as a symbol of power. A bow with a complex design was assembled from separate parts including bone ones. Such parts were found during archeological excavations. As compared to the Scythian bow, the Hunnish one was bigger and that’s why was more powerful and more far-ranging. Its arrows had solely trihedral iron points. Such a “round” could pierce from a rather long distance practically all kinds of protective armor which were used in those turbulent times. Even the Roman infantry which had been invincible before couldn’t do much because of a heavy shooting of elusive horse archers. Of course, Huns’ horses were smaller than Roman ones as they fed on grass. However, during campaigns in steppes commanders of Huns might not care about how to feed these enduring and undemanding animals. One of the contemporaries of the coming of Huns to Europe wrote that Romans were smashed by people who couldn’t even walk properly and even thought that they would die if they dismounted from their horses. The situation was that not only king Hermanarich, but also even emperors grew concerned. Roman strategists quickly understood that the new enemy was the weakest in spring due to the peculiarities of the nomadic way of life. It is then that horses haven’t fattened after a hard winter yet and that’s why you might not only be afraid

of a raid, but even assume the offensive if necessary. Archeological excavations may add more specific information about the way of life and the customs of Huns to these descriptions. For example, about an artificial deformation of skulls. There was such a practice in noble families, bandaging the head in a certain way in childhood. In burial places they found unnaturally prolate skulls the owners of which were really quite distinguished among other people during their lives. It’s worth noting that there aren’t many finds which could be connected with the stay of Huns on the territory of the Land. These are about one and a half dozens of locations if we take into account the things which were found accidentally. There are a few burial places; all of them were found in the steppe and on the territory of the Crimea. The studied burial places confirm the information about the diverse composition of the Hunnish community as they differ greatly taking into account their funeral rites. Some dead men were burnt, others were put in graves which were covered with stones. Near Kerch they even found burial places in stone vaults. Near the graves there are traces of a funeral meal-trizna. A few burial places probably belonged to the elite taking into account their riches. There they found weapons decorated with gold and precious stones, gold adornments including the ones for a horse harness. A Roman spatha which, as they think, is the predecessor of the swords of the Middles Ages. Modern reconstruction

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Gold adornments with insertions of red stones. Northern Black Sea region, the 5th century

Spending if not all their life, then at least a considerable part of it in the saddle, Huns took care so that this product looked in a proper way. By the way, it is to Huns that Europe owes the spreading of this useful invention. The wealthiest horsemen ordered saddles which were decorated with gold plates inlaid with color (mostly red) stones or glass. Belts also glittered with gold and silver. If you add to it weapons decorated with gold (first of all, hilts and sheaths of swords), different earrings, rings, then you can try to imagine how “the best people of Huns” glittered with jewels. However, not all the burial places belonged to the elite. There were craftsmen among Huns too. In one of the graves they found a set of instruments for making and repairing bronze cauldrons. Such a cauldron is a very useful thing in a far campaign. Such products appeared in the everyday life of nomads as far back as in the times of Cimmerians. You can recognize cauldrons of Huns with the help of handles which resemble… mushrooms. True, there aren’t many such finds in an intact form. Sometimes they manage to find the traces of the stay of Huns in the most unexpected places. For instance, in one of the settlements of the Chernyakhiv culture which is situated in the North of the Odessa region archeologists came across a pit which was filled mostly with ground. Besides, they found fragments of bones of animals and small fragments of ceramics. Only at the bottom they found a massive object which was cast of bronze and turned green due to time. It resembled a few flat mushrooms which were connected with crosspieces to one A bronze cauldron

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another. Researchers were very surprised when they found out that a fragment of a Hunnish cauldron, to be more exact a part of its handle, fell into their hands. Now we can only assume under what circumstances the bearers of the Chernyakhiv culture became the owners of a cauldron of steppe warriors. It is quite possible that this is a war trophy which Goths divided equally between ordinary participants of a victorious clash or a raid on a Hunnish camp. True, the lucky owner of a few kilos of nonferrous metal never managed to use it. And perhaps he didn’t intend to do that, having dedicated it to gods – as a token of gratitude for coming back from the campaign. Since next to the part of the cauldron they also found a bone with a scratched image of an eagle and also other bones of animals – probably the traces of sacrifices. And if we take into account the fact that this settlement is situated on the way to the Dniester, then its residents, most likely, went from Huns to the territory of the Empire, behind the Danube, leaving their goods and chattels which they had acquired with backbreaking toil.

Huns and Rome After 445 AD Attila, son of Mundzuk, becomes the sole ruler of Huns. It is within the years of his ruling that the state of Huns reaches the zenith of its might. The tribute paid by Romans just boggles the imagination. The predecessor of Attila was satisfied with 350 librae of gold, which according to modern standards amounts to 115 kg. However, the new ruler of Huns “started” already with 2,000 (about 688 kg) librae of gold and from 447 AD wanted (and received) as many as 7,000 librae, approximately 2,292.15 kg of gold. It’s worth noting that we are

Attila, the ruler of Huns. A miniature from a medieval manuscript

Section 3. The Universe drew back in front of them A coin of the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire Theodosius II

speaking not about a single payment, but about yearly payments from the Eastern Roman budget. At first sight it may seem that this yearly tribute of a few tons of gold was supposed to empty the imperial treasure. However, it’s worth taking into account that even in those hard times the yearly income of one Roman senator could amount, according to some data, to from 1,000 to 4,000 librae of gold. So, half a dozen of senators could as well “chip in” for the payoff for barbarians. True, the emperor had no idea about such exactions – all the expenses were covered from the treasure. Do you think it is unprofitable? It turns out that everything depends on what you compare it with. For instance, only one military campaign against Vandals (we are speaking about the kingdom of Germanic peoples here) who settled down in Roman provinces in North Africa cost the treasure of the empire a fantastic sum of 100,000 (one hundred thousand) librae of gold. With so much money they could buy about 15 years of peace even from Attila. Upon the death of the emperor Theodosius II (and it was him who spent the most yellow metal for assuring peace with nomads) in the state treasure there was almost 33 tons of gold left! And this is without counting the personal property of the emperor, not to mention the fabulous treasures of the Church. Sometimes they forget that Huns were supposed to spend somewhere the gold which was received in the form of payments or ambassador's gifts. Since even the profit from selling slaves to Romans was given by them for Roman goods – fabric, precious harnesses for horses, jewelry, weapons and finally wine. Thus, it was Roman merchants who grew rich, craftsmen in cities and the owners of vineyards and even potters who made amphorae for wine received money for completing orders – the gold which had been paid to Huns on behalf of the Roman state was flowing to them in the form of small streams. And the imperial officials meticulously wrung-wrested taxes from their subjects completing this rotation of treasures. True, not everybody received the same amount of gold and the mutually beneficial rotation of gold stopped from time to time. It is also worth remembering that for quite a long time Romans obtained a rather big benefit, hiring the cavalry of Huns. Everything started with relatively small detachments with the number of about 1,000 horsemen. However, already in 425 AD they hired a 60,000 army.

Helmets of the time of the great migration of peoples which were used both by Romans and by barbarians

These mercenaries were especially necessary for maintaining the law and order in the Western Roman Empire, first of all for maintaining the Roman order in Gaul. Huns were indispensable in the fight with the local “resistance” – the movement of bagaudae who encroached on the wellbeing of agrarian latifundia. In the course of this endless war Attila even obtained one of the highest military ranks which, of course, was connected with certain monetary payments and also “a ration” – supplies of grain which were sufficient for supporting a small army. So, there were times when Romans and Huns lived in perfect harmony, supporting (and enriching) each other. Of course, we are speaking only about the Roman and Hunnish elites and not about slaves, coloni or ordinary nomads. However, buying peace rather cheaply, the emperors suffered substantial damages in terms of the political prestige. Not everybody in the Roman society obtained benefit from such cooperation with barbarians as many people paid taxes without receiving anything but peace. And servicemen (especially in the Eastern Empire) were often “ashamed of the state” and from time to time they said something against concessions to barbarians, insisting on a more rigid power politics.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Gold diadems which were found in Stara Igren and Verkhnyo-Yabluchne, the first half of the 5th century

Coins with the image of Justa Grata Honoria, the 5th century

Besides, the fact of such payments humiliated once invincible Romans. And Huns themselves sometimes poured oil on the fire. They were not even ashamed to make statements that they were the victors and that they even looked at Romans as at their slaves since only slaves pay their masters. The contents of such a speech which was made after a few drinks at a banquet of the ruler of Huns were preserved in the records of one of the contemporaries of the banquet. However, there is no independent evidence of this fact, but in any way a message about something similar might as well be used to inflame political passions in the imperial capital and in provinces. It’s also worth admitting that barbarians studied both Empires rather well and were familiar with all the peculiarities of the local policy – both in Rome and in Constantinople. And they had enough gold to buy secrets. However, it seems that the Roman intelligence agencies were also on the alert. Especially taking into account the fact that secretaries in the office of Attila worked upon the recommendation of Romans. The time had come when Attila, having used certain circumstances, tried one day to convert his sonorous but only nominal Roman military rank into quite

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real powers of authority. And he wanted nothing less than ruling in all Gaul. At that very moment, somehow very appropriately, he received a proposal of marriage from the emperor’s sister. Justa Grata Honoria was not very young at that moment. You can try to estimate her beauty with the help of profiles which were minted in Ravenna on gold solidi. However, such a marriage opened a prospect for acquiring, by the way in the nearest future, the imperial diadem. Probably Attila was very surprised when the Roman establishment started counteracting the conclusion of such a marriage since he seemed to be acting according to all the traditions of the Empire. There were descendants of barbarians among emperors: Thracians, Gauls, Macedonians, the residents of Africa and other provinces? However, Attila didn’t take into consideration the fact that Rome was not ready yet to see a Hun on the throne who, besides, was a pagan and not a Christian. However, the conversion to Christianity would hardly change the situation – neither the emperor Valentinianus III, nor the actual ruler of the state the commander Flavius Aëtius were going to cede the power which had been acquired in a hard struggle for nothing. And then a war started during which Europe was divided into two camps: those who fought for Attila (voluntarily or under compulsion) and those who fought against Huns. True, there was also the Eastern Empire, Constantinople… However, its rulers thought that it was better to hide and wait how another all-European wrestle for life or death would end. Miniatures with the image of the imperial family. To the right is Justa Grata Honoria who wanted to become a fiancée of Attila

Section 4

The next battle for Europe ar from all Gothic kings put up with the loss of the lands which they got used to call theirs. And when Attila decided to settle a score with Visigoths, it turned out that the latter had nowhere else to retreat – they could go from Spain only to Africa. However, at that time there was still a kingdom of Vandals there the ruler of which didn’t mind weakening the dangerous neighbors with the help of Huns. Moreover, Huns had the most serious plans of conquering not only Gaul, but also the Western Roman Empire on the whole. It seemed that all the circumstances were absolutely favorable for Attila. Since his rather numerous enemies were separated, they didn’t trust one another. Among them there were quite a lot of people who were ready for cooperation, sometimes even at the cost of betraying the interests of their own peoples. The armies-hordes of the ruler of Huns were numerous as never. They were capable of fighting not only in the open field. Experts who were capable of assuring the siege and seizure of the biggest cities and the most powerful fortresses served Huns. However, at the last moment their adversaries managed to unite. This way what according to the plan of Attila and the people who surrounded him was supposed to be (and it’s worth noting, might as well be) the beginning of the new superstate became the reference point of its collapse.

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The peculiarities of the European politics In 450 AD it happened that the king of Franks died. His successors, it appeared that there were two of them, turned to more powerful neighbors – to Romans and to Huns. In Rome they decided to support the golden-haired prince, the founder of the dynasty of Merovingians (and the ancestor of the famous king of Franks Clovis). Attila took the side of the elder successor of the Frankish throne. However, till the last moment Romans tried to “pacify” the dangerous neighbor. It was much simpler for Flavius Aëtius to come to an agreement with Attila than with the king of Visigoths. The thing is that the Roman politician for quite a long time waged a war against king Theodoric with the help of Huns, of course, strengthening, as he thought, the position of the empire in Gaul and its outskirts. Besides, Rome no longer had the legions which once conquered a considerable part of Europe. And in terms of quantity, its army couldn’t be compared with the “combined Hunnish team” of Attila. So, if Flavius Aëtius became a rescuer of the empire, then, as it is thought, it happened only thanks to his extremely fruitful diplomatic efforts.

He found the right person to send to the king of Visigoths for negotiations, won over part of Franks, Alans and Burgundians to his side. At first king Theodoric claimed that Goths could fight well too and would meet Huns in Spain if they decided to cross the Pyrenees. However, later he let Romans convince him and went on a campaign which, by the way, appeared to be the last one in the king’s life. So, it happened that Theodoric and Aëtius who had been implacable enemies before became allies for some time. The interesting thing is that till the last moment people in Rome didn’t believe that Huns would resort to war.

Some events of the 5th century in Europe

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The Roman commander Flavius Aëtius against the background of the computer reconstruction of his army. A shot from a motion picture

They thought that Huns would frighten them a little, then they would receive gifts, a few tons of gold, some honorable titles and would calm down for some time. Especially taking into account the fact that people in Rome knew well that the military might of Huns was far from being the same as before. Indeed, for the decade of their stay in the center of Europe the once formidable cavalry of nomads had thinned. This was the result of long years which had been spent on raids and… the Roman service far from their native steppes. The hordes of skillful horse archers who were frightful even for Roman legions had also decreased. Now the multi-thousand troops of Attila mostly consisted of the infantry which contained warriors from different tribes and wasn’t trained and armed well enough. One of the contemporaries of those events, the resident of Gaul, made a list of peoples who were brought to the Roman territories by the ruler of Huns: Rugii, Helonians, Gepids, Scirii, Belonots, Neuri, Bastarnae, Burgundians, Turingii. In order to have a good rhyme in his poem the poet even added those tribes who had disappeared from the political map of the continent a few centuries before. For instance, Neuri or Helonians were mentioned probably for the last time by Herodotus many centuries before the described events. Although he didn’t “notice” Ostrogoths headed by Balamir and Vidimer and also Burgundians and Franks parts of whom supported Huns. Even when all these troops crossed the frontiers of Gaul, devastated a rather big A fragment of armor of a Roman horseman, the 4th–the 5th century

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Now it is Orléans in France.

territory and besides, quite successfully besieged well-fortified cities, people in Rome still thought that they could Adornments come to an agreement with enamels which belonged with Attila somehow. The to Franks, rulers of the empire came the 5th century to their senses only when they received a message from Attila in which the ruler of Huns wanted them to prepare the imperial palace in the capital for his reception. The emperor Valentinianus III and his commander-in-chief, Flavius Aëtius, finally understood that their adversary would not be satisfied with either gold or sonorous titles as he decided to become the ruler of Rome relying on his military might.

The Catalaunian Plains And then the old Roman commander led his numerous, but also multi-tribal troops to meet Huns who had already reached the center of Gaul and besieged the big city Aurelianum1. The armies met to the West of the modern city of Troyes, in the province Champagne which is now famous for its wines. This place is called in a different way, but the most modern one is the Catalaunian plains. The searches of

A warrior-barbarian of the 5th century in a helmet and chain mail. Modern reconstruction

Section 4. The next battle for Europe

The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. An image on the miniature of the 15th century

the real place of one of the biggest (and the most sanguinary) battles of the ancient European history still continue just like disputes about its date – either 152, or 20 July 451. Everybody agrees on one thing: the battle started at nine o’clock in the morning and lasted till the evening. It is known that Flavius Aëtius put the Alan cavalry in the center of his battle formation, considering these steppe warriors to be not very reliable allies. The right flank was entrusted to Visigoths headed by Theodoric and he headed the left flank himself. The main adversaries, Huns, stood in the center, counting either on finishing

Alans quickly or on their betrayal of Romans. However, Alans squeezed between Goths and Romans didn’t really have anywhere to retreat. Attila put Ostrogoths against their relatives-Visigoths and the multi-tribal infantry headed by Gepids was supposed to fight with Romans. So, if the descendants of Veneti or Antes were in the Catalaunian plains, then it fell to their lot to fight with Romans. However, they could also defend the fortified camp the retreat to which at the end of the battle would rescue Huns from the complete defeat. But let’s discuss the events in their proper order.

Huns besieged Aurelianum – Orléans. A miniature from a medieval manuscript

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In this case it coincides with the date of another big battle, the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus A coin which was minted in honor of the victory of Flavius Aëtius over the enemies of the Western Roman Empire

A meeting of Attila with Pope Leo. A miniature from a medieval manuscript

At the beginning of the battle Huns really managed to break the resistance of the Alan center and even tried to take Visigoths on the flank. The latter desperately fought with Ostrogoths, not yielding the ground to their relatives. King Theodoric died in a fierce fight, but his son Thorismund managed to take the command. His army not only held out, but also even passed to the offensive, having been infuriated over the death of the old king. At this moment Aëtius after repulsing the attack of Gepids and their companions gained the rear of Huns. This way the horse detachments of Attila appeared to be squeezed between Visigoths and Romans and found themselves in the thick of a cruel (and lethal for the cavalry) hand-to-hand battle. Nonetheless, Attila managed to take out some part of his army and retreat to the camp fortified with carts (according to the Gothic custom). Probably the rest of the detach-

A coin with the image of the emperor of the Western Roman Empire Valentinianus III 3

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ments which had survived in the battle also came here. Visigoths who wanted complete revenge yearned to assault the camp. However, the plans of the wise politician Flavius Aëtius clearly didn’t include the complete annihilation of the troops of Attila. He managed to convince part of his allies, first of all Thorismund and Merovech to leave the battle field, having hinted that now they should take care of the affairs on the throne of their own kingdoms and not of the complete victory over Huns. Aëtius also clearly didn’t want to risk his own army. And there was no sense in the total annihilation of Huns. They might as well be necessary in the nearest future – both for “pacifying” Gaul and for placating Visigoths, Franks and many other peoples. But allies-barbarians who were guided by the laws of blood vengeance could really spoil the subtle Roman policy. In any case Attila with the rest of his troops left not only the Catalaunian plains, but also Gaul. And once again people in Rome underestimated the obstinacy of Huns. Only one year passed and Attila crossed the Alps with a new army. Now he headed for the capital of Rome, but under unknown circumstances he let the embassy headed by Pope Leo himself convince him. Either the Vicar of Peter appeared to be a better diplomat than Flavius Aëtius3 who finally lost trust or apostles Peter and Paul themselves helped (there is also such a version), but Huns left the boundaries of the empire that year. And the next year, in 453, Attila died, after which his state disappeared soon. On gold coins of the emperor Valentinianus III you can see the image of a commander who pressed down with his foot a snake with a human head. Sometimes they write that this is an allegory which represents the victory over Attila. As if this were an appropriate symbol, however coins with such an image were minted for the first time between 426–430 AD, two odd decades before this very victory. Most likely we are speaking about some other enemy here4. The emperor Valentinianus III, under the right foot there is a snake with a human head. The solidus was minted in 426–430 AD

By the way, he was killed under the order of the emperor right in the palace. However, it didn’t take the adherents of the old commander (and politician) much time to revenge – they killed Valentinianus III himself. Most likely the allegory originates from the Christian tradition and the enemies of the emperor are, of course, the emanation of dark forces by definition.

Section 4. The next battle for Europe

Slavs and Huns

Probably only the military elite headed by the clannish nobility could count on some part of the plunder and only during a successful war. Huns-Slavs hardly got any You can find quite different descriptions of Huns part from the yearly payments of the Empire in favor of and their allies in the works of historians thanks to which Attila. For some reason they didn’t find Roman gold on the events of that epoch were reconstructed to the great the territory of the Land. Although Attila received it every extent. However, sometimes it is quite difficult to underyear first in terms of centners and then even in terms of stand where exactly there is a description of Huns and a tons! There is silver, treasures, coins, but they are mostly description of their allies. For instance, Romans, the condated to the times of the Gothic glory. temporaries of Attila, didn’t differentiate all barbarians. Taking into account the peculiarities of the HunnishSo, the attempts one thousand or one thousand and a half Roman goods turnover, the gold, of course, could be spent years later to identify, for example, Huns and Slavs are on buying many useful and nice things. For instance, wine quite clear. which according to the words of eyewitnesses, was Of course, Slavs not only met Huns, but this acquainrespected by the subjects of Attila so much. In this case tance had different consequences for them. One of them the Slavic settlements of the Land should be heaped up was connected with the fact that in the history of Slavic with broken amphorae. Such finds are not rare in the settribes there was quite a long period when they, as it seems, tlements of the Scythian time, a little less broken lost not only freedom, but also their own name, havamphorae can be found in the settlements of the ing become for some time not Veneti or Antes, but Chernyakhiv culture and as for the monuments Huns. True, this circumstance makes some people which are connected with Slavs, it is difficult to find draw a conclusion that Huns and Slavs are the same even separate shards during excavations. Perhaps clan-tribe. And the most consistent supporters of “the Huns-Slavs preferred domestic drinks (say, Hunnish legacy” argue that the great ruler Attila is honey) to overseas ones? But they surely couldnobody else but the glorious Kyiv knyaz Bohdan n’t do without weapons. However, no traces of Hatylo. Saying so, they, probably being unaware the “imported” weapons of the fifth century of it, only repeat “the achievements” of the have been found on the territory of the Land, Gothic historian Jordanes to whose works we just like the traces of their production. have referred in the previous sections more than The archeology of the Slavic world of the once. However, there are such extracts in his times of the might of Huns depicts the same works which are seldom cited in our Land for simple way of life of “barbarians” of the time obvious reasons. Since the educated Goth of Tacitus, but not the one of the ruling estate “privatized” (in favor of his people) almost or the prosperous “middle class” of the one thousand years of the history of mighty state which had conquered tribes Scythia together with all ancient rulers and from the Volga to the Danube. If the center their great deeds. Starting with the mythiA bronze fibula in the of the Hunnish state were really connected cal campaigns to the boundaries of Egypt form of a cicada which with Dnieper area, then the traces of its to the long war with Darius Hystaspes, was found in a Gothic th existence would have to look at least at the “the king” of Persia. And not only this. Of burial place of the 5 level of the golden age of Scythia with its course, Jordanes rewrote history out of a century. Such images of insects were used as burial places filled with weapons, gold and sense of extreme patriotism and for the badges of commanders in silver and jewelry which was taken from sake of the glory of the Gothic homeland. hordes-armies of Huns their wealthy neighbors. However, now such scientific researches By the way, scientists have compiled arouse a smile at the best case. The same a dictionary of the language of Huns. It sounds like the can be said about the modern collectors of “the glory” of language of Turks-nomads who were neighbors (and Huns of the times of Attila for the depository of the historsometimes rulers) of some Slavic lands in later times. So, ical legacy of Slavs. the word “God” in Hunnish sounded as “Tengri”, Indeed, the new subjects of steppe rulers under cer“woman” — “katun”, “army” — “orda”, “country”— tain circumstances also took the ferocious name “Huns”, “El”, and finally “sword” — “kilich”. It is noticeable that receiving some bit of the great glory of the conquerors of such important words as country, God, woman, sword the Universe. The same thing could happen both to didn’t come to the Slavic language from Huns. And when nomads and to grain growers. True, the latter were supthey say in the Land: “orda”, then as a rule, they don’t posed to occupy the lowest steps in the hierarchy of the mean the domestic regular army. new state. Since cereals growing was at all times much However, Huns are directly connected with the hislower in the system of values of the nomadic world than tory of the Land, even if we don’t consider them to be such a noble occupation as horse breeding and even sheep Slavs. Since their camps were situated not somewhere, but pasturing.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus in the steppes including the ones of Black Sea and Sea of Azov shores, also the Crimea. Most likely somewhere here, in these steppes a boy, Attila, who became one of the most famous conquerors in the history of Europe was born to this world. Campaigns controlled by him and the commanders of his horde-army to the borders of both Empires, the Western and the Eastern ones, started from here. It is in the steppes of the Land that the descendants of Huns who decided to forget the once ferocious name and return to (or create new) tribal names found shelter after the defeats in Europe. It is in the Land that the direct descendants of Attila will later start developing a new state5 which still exists, only in the Balkans. The name of this state which is now quite Slavic is Bulgaria. So, under certain conditions not only Slavs can become “Huns”, but also the descendants of Huns can become “Slavs”, having given their name to Slavic tribes.

The successors of Sarmatia One more people from among those who lived in the Land appeared to be involved in the whirl of the great migration of peoples. This tribe of Sarmatians is Alans. Part of them was forced out to the West after Goths intruded into the Land. There were times when the lands along the Prut were called, for example, “Alania” and this very river was called not otherwise than Alanus Fluvius – the Alan River. The toponyms with the root “yas” – for instance, the city Yassy, are connected with the stay of Eastern Alan tribes here. There is an opinion that it is the local Alans who became one of the founders of the tribal union of Antes which later, approximately in the 6th century, would become already Slavic. As for Sarmatians, both in the 3rd and in the 4th centuries they continued to test the strength of Roman borders and the emperors one after another gained victories and received honorable titles “Sarmatian”. The invasion of Huns led to the retreat of part of Alans farther to the West. In 378 AD they together with Goths came to the victorious for them battle field near Adrianople; the victory in this battle opened two ways for them. The first one lay farther to the West, the other one lay to the service for Romans. Already in 402–408 AD they fought against Visigoths as part of the Roman army. At that very time another group together with Vandals went to fight with Romans Coins of emperors who received the title “Sarmatian” – Constantius I and Constantius II 5

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and their allies to Gaul. In 418 AD Westgoths, serving for Romans, smashed Alans – barbarians under the command of Roman military leaders pacified other barbarians. The king of Alans Addak died in the decisive battle and the remains of his people found shelter in the lands of Vandals who fortified their position on the territory of Spain, in Galicia, at that time. In honor of this the king of Vandals took the new title: Rex Vandalorum et Alanorum. But the adventures of the natives of distant steppes didn’t stop here. In 429 AD they together with Vandals crossed the sea and captured Roman provinces in North Africa. Their traces are lost there for some time. Alans who stuck in Gaul managed to serve Romans, to fight with Visigoths and other enemies of the empire, to fight in the Catalaunian plains together with Romans and Visigoths in order to stop the advance of the hordes of Huns from the West. More than three dozens of “Alan” toponyms in France remind of those times. One of the most ancient of them is the name of the city Alençon. The finds of small bronze mirrors in burial places and also typical gold pendants which were sewed on clothes are connected with the stay of Alans in the West. In any case, some time later the material culture of involuntary wanderers changed to such an extent that it is not possible to find its traces solely with the help of archeological methods. Quite a lot of Alans became companions of Huns in their campaigns to the West. The destiny of the Sarmatian population of Hungaria was the same. Serving Huns, it seems that Sarmatians occupied a higher position than some other conquered tribes. After all they were nomads and not grain growers. Thus by the will of fate they headed the administration which was left by Huns as local authorities. It is here that the historical paths and fates of Sarmatians and Slavs crossed again. There is a version that even such an ethnicon as “Serbs” which seemed to be indigenously Slavic at first might belong to one of the Eastern Alan tribes. It was indicated as far back as in the 1st century (in the works of Pliny the Elder) and in the 3rd century (in the works of Ptolemaeus) for territories which were situated in the steppe area, to the northeast of the shore of the Sea of Azov. Two hundred years passed and at the beginning of the 5th century the Roman author wrote that the river Elbe separated Suebi (Germanic people) and… Serbs. At that time part of the lands to the East of the Elbe was controlled by Huns, Serbs stayed on their territory. It is thought that here we are speaking about Serbs-Alans who were appointed by Attila heads of local tribes. Veneti were supposed to be somewhere here. Perhaps, eventually they managed to get rid of the surveillance of Serbs-Alans and their name could as well remain according to the name of the new tribal union.

More details about these events are given in the section: “Bulgaria in the Pontic steppes”.

Section 5

The search of ancestral home of Slavs owadays on the European continent there are more than a dozen of states the citizens of which speak similar languages – Slavic languages: Byelorussian, Bulgarian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Czech, Croatian and others. Their number amounts to more than two hundred million now. So, it would be logical to assume that their ancestors once belonged to the same tribe (or even a tribal union) who eventually inhabited all those lands where they live now. Therefore for quite a long time scientists have been trying to find the place where that mysterious “ancestral home of the Slavic tribe” is situated, the place from where they started their journey along the roads of Europe. It is not that easy to conduct this search now as everything started more than a dozen and a half centuries ago. However, the efforts of researchers did yield certain results if you consider the appearance of a considerable number of diverse theories to be such results. The study of written evidence of ancient historians, archeological excavations have already allowed painting a rather motley and at the same time ambiguous picture of that distant past. In the last decades scientists who conduct genetic studies have been involved in the process. They have already managed to make a rather valuable contribution to the searches. However, the last period in the study of this question hasn’t been put yet, although a lot of data suggest rather conspicuously: at least one part (and a rather big one) could be within the boundaries of our Land.

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The ancestral home at your choice

managed to determine approximately when and under what circumstances this could happen. The next is the so-called “Vistula-Oder concept”. It was created by scientists from Poland and for a long time it was especially revered in this country. And it is under-

The number of scientific concepts regarding the location of the ancestral home of Slavs exceeded the first dozen a long time ago1. Since some of them are similar in some respect, experts tried to classify them in a certain way. Therefore we have at least four main directions of the search. The “Danube” one is the most ancient; it originates from Nestor the Chronicler himself that’s why the age of the theory amounts to a few hundred years. The chronicler noted that Slavs spread around the world from the banks of the Danube after which they started calling them with “their names”. For some reason Nestor didn’t explain how Slavs had appeared on the Danube as antique authors mention there anybody but them. He just said that once Slavs “sat on the Danube”. It’s worth noting that only modern The views of scientists regarding the location of the ancestral home of Slavs: four groups of concepts historians and archeologists 1

We are speaking about scientific concepts and not about such fiction as Hyperborea, Atlantis, Aratta and other equally exotic “ancestral homes” which will not be dealt with in this section.

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A view on the Danube in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia

The Eastern Carpathian hollow, now it is the territory of Slovakia: the plain, on the horizon there are mountains

High banks of the Dnieper near old Vytachev

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stood since the Western border of Poland lies along the Oder and the Vistula is the main river of this country. The third one, “the Vistula-Dnieper concept”, has supporters in different countries including Belarus, Poland, Russia and many other Slavic countries and of course, in Ukraine where probably there are most of them. Its supporters seek the ancestral home not only in forests, but also in the foreststeppe strip between the mentioned above rivers. The fourth direction suggests widening the circle of the search to the northeast (of the Dnieper), making the Vistula the Western border. Since the northeast is already the territory of Russia, then it is quite understood why the supporters of such conclusions work mainly in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. So, what data, arguments were used during all these searches? Their overall list is typical for scientific searches within the boundaries of “recorded” and “preliterate” history: not very important and even less clear records of ancient authors and chroniclers which are often quite discrepant, the findings of archeological expeditions and linguistics. The use of the data of anthropological studios is complicated as in this period Slavs preferred the cremation of dead people that’s why there’s nothing to study here.

Section 5. The search of ancestral home of Slavs

The formation of modern Slavic peoples on the basis of ancient unions which were indicated in written sources, according to the views of archeologists (the main scheme is from the book: V. D. Baran, V. Ya. Baran The historical origin of the Ukrainian people. – K., 2005. — Table 16)

Archeological materials suggest that there are no traces of the general settlement of all the mentioned above “ancestral homes” by the bearers of only one archeological culture either in the “Venetic”2 period of the history of Slavdom in the first centuries AD or later in the 5th–the 6th century. Instead scientists point out a certain cultural diversity. Now there are no generally recognized winners in the competition for the most Slavic archeological culture for the mentioned period. It seems that they managed to solve the question concerning “the Danube ancestral home” in the most successful way. Archeological studies showed that the traces of Slavs there started approximately from the end of the 5th and during the 6th century. So, Nestor was right, Slavs really “sat” on the Danube and there is material evidence of it. However, should the chronicler want to find out one day how they had appeared there, it would be rather difficult for him to do it, just like for the historians in the following centuries. Since in those times when he was writing his work, the history of the appearance of Slavs on the Danube also amounted to a few hundreds of years and was connected with lots of legends, to say nothing about the fact that the very names of Slavic tribes had changed and the principalities and kingdoms created by them had appeared and disappeared in some places from the political map. Not to mention the fact that every tribe in the times of Nestor, and this is the 12th century, had their own history of journeys around Europe (and not only around Europe), to say nothing about their own legends. What can the diversity of views of scientists regarding the ancestral home of Slavs suggest? At least about the fact that each of them deals mostly with the nearest part of the Slavic world. Besides, about the fact that in ancient times on the historical stage there might be the so-called “combined teams”, tribal unions with different material culture, to say nothing about the diversity of languages. The purpose of such a union is solely political: to repulse an attack or to work their will on neighbors by combined efforts. Such a union could have its own name, for instance, “Antes”, “Veneti” and even “Huns” and so on from the endless list of the wealthy treasure of the ancient European history. 2

The spreading of Veneti, Sclaveni and Antes according to the views of archeologists

Since the authors of ancient chronicles mostly described the political history, they didn’t always find it necessary to find out about the composition of certain “political teams”. And in general they didn’t always have access to such information, it could be uncertain and not very reliable, which is confirmed when comparing the available ancient

The Danube in the area of “the Iron Gate”, now it is the border between Serbia and Romania

It’s worth noting that far from all scientists agree with the fact that Veneti have anything to do with Slavs.

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Gold adornments, the 7th–the 8th century. Kharyivsky treasure. Ukraine

chronicles. Besides, political changes came so quickly that far from all of them were indicated on their pages. As recently as today, for example, Visigoths were enemies of Rome and tomorrow (when they became necessary or separated from Huns) they are dear allies. One day Antes go under the flag (and under the name of Huns) and some time later they are already on their own. What is natural for politics becomes incomprehensible for scientists who study the material culture of a certain period. Since pots or adornments and even weapons which are used by warriors don’t change their form with the same speed as it can happen to the political orientation of chiefs and kings.

What can trees tell us This section will not deal with the language of trees, but with their names in different languages. Since they, just like the names of other plants, animals, fish and also areas, forests, etc. can tell us quite a lot of things about the history of the people who utters these words. So, it is not accidental that special attention was given to the study of the lexicon of Slavic peoples during the search of the mysterious “ancestral home”. Linguists had an opportunity to abstract to a certain extent both from the data of archeology and from historical schools, having proposed a number of interesting and origi-

This is what the lands to the North of the Carpathians which were inhabited by Slavs look like now. The territory of Poland

nal ideas. And they had the following considerations: the world which surrounded them should be reflected in the language of Slavs. Since landscapes, plants, rivers and lakes look different in different parts of Europe, the language of any people must indicate this different in some way. You just need to find appropriate words, names which are common for all Slavic peoples as probably they contain memories about the common homeland, memories which can outlive one hundred, two hundred and even one thousand years. One of the conclusions was that at first Slavs lived in a forest strip, in the area where there were a lot of lakes and rivers, but quite far from mountains, steppes and seas. It turned out that they have common names of animals and fish, plants which correspond to this ecological niche. However, the lexicon which is connected with mountains (and the corresponding plant and animal world) is rather diverse, due to which they made a conclusion: these words were “received” by each tribe already after the great settlement from the area of forests and swamps. It is there, in this blessed area that the ancestors of Bulgarians and Serbs, Poles and Croats, Ukrainians and Byelorussians, Russians and Slovaks, Czechs… once lived. So, when they parted, they had to create (or borrow) new names and words. However, as it is known, there are quite a lot of areas with forests and swamps in Eastern Europe. That’s why they had to specify the probable boundaries of “the ancestral home” a little. In order to do this, they had to test quite concrete names of plants, to be more exact, the areas of the use of these names. This way, for example, they managed to determine that the name of such a tree as beech was proba-

The remains of forest areas where, according to linguistic schools, ancient Slavs once lived. The territory of Poland

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Section 5. The search of ancestral home of Slavs bly “borrowed” by our ancestors from ancient Germanic people. It means that such a strange tree didn’t grow in their native land. The eastern boundary of the spreading of the beech in the last century lay somewhere along the line Kaliningrad/Königsberg–Odessa. So, it means that we shouldn’t search for “the ancestral home” further to the West. However, it would be interesting to know where there was this boundary one thousand and a half or two thousand years ago. They found one more tree which, as it seems, ancient Slavs didn’t know. It’s a fir tree. You can’t find it either on the territory of Poland or to the East of the Carpathians. There are some of them in the mountains, but there aren’t any in the plain. And the situation is the same till the very Volga. And the word “lime” appeared to be common for Slavic and Baltic languages. If we sum up the botanic searches, then the land which is the most appropriate for the ancestral home of Slavs should be looked for to the East of the Carpathians, further to the North of the forest-steppe strip.

The remains of a Slavic ancient settlement of the 7th–the 8th century on the territory of Poland

received their own picture which is original to a certain extent and somewhat similar to the results of the work of archeologists, historians and linguists.

Genetic data about the Slavic ancestral home Geneticists managed to determine the presence of at least two groups of the Slavic population. One of them covers the so-called Western, Eastern and two groups of Southern Slavs and the second one covers the rest of the Southern Slavs. According to the results of the researches, the first group has (basing on the male Y chromosome) a rather homogeneous gene pool which is represented by the haplogroup R1a3. Thanks to this trait this group is connected with the area of Middle Dnieper area, i.e. the territory of modern Ukraine4. Moreover, it turned out that the ancestors of “annalistic” Drevlians and Polans lived in these lands at

The Dnieper, the great river of the Slavic ancestral home. Ukraine, between Kyiv and Kaniv

The study of languages revealed one more interesting regularity. About 1,600 words are common in the languages of Slavs and their neighbors-Balts. Besides the mentioned above lime this is roka (hand), golva (head), to say nothing about balt, i.e. “swamp”, and a lot of other interesting things. On the basis of this some of the researchers made a conclusion that one of the Southern dialects of the Baltic language group became the Proto-Slavic language. It could happen not earlier than the 5th century. You should know that the determination of the time in linguistics is a rather specific matter which sometimes gives different results. The same can be said about historical reconstructions which take into account solely archeological materials. Such opinions are supported best of all by the results of the study of the genealogy of the bearers of Slavic languages by geneticists. Since the latter 3

4

The materials of genetic studies regarding the probable ancestral home and the process of the settlement of Slavs and also their interaction with the local population

In 2002 geneticists (to be more exact Y Chromosome Consortium) approved the classification and the list of Y chromosome lines: 18 main mutational clusters in a chromosome indicated with Latin letters from A to R. The order of letters shows the sequence of the appearance of mutations. Additionally haplogroups are marked with numbers and letters. More details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_history_of_Europe and also В. А. Степанов и др. Эволюция и филогеография линий Yхромосомы человека: Вестник ВОГиС, 2006, Т. 10, № 1 (V.A. Stepanov et al. The evolution and phylogeography of human Y chromosome lines: VOGIS Bulletin) (http://www.bionet.nsc.ru/vogis/pict_pdf/2006/t10_1/vogis_10_1_05.pdf).

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus least two thousand years before information about them was written on the pages of old manuscripts. Actually there are all the grounds to think that for the first time the bearers of R1a appeared in these lands, strange as it may seem, as far back as in the times of the glacier which, coming from the North, separated into two halves Europe and Homo sapiens who had just started inhabiting the continent. However, the same genetic researches have also revealed differences inside the mentioned above groups of the bearers of Slavic languages. And this fact contradicted to a certain extent the views of linguists and historians about the initial unity of the Slavic world. And it is not strange as quite a lot of time has passed since that “unity”. And did this unity really exist and if it did exist, what form did it have? Russians stand out among the Eastern Slavs thanks to the presence of the additional haplogroup N1c(N3). This is that very contribution of Baltic and FinnishHungarian peoples in addition to cultural and linguistic elements which have been written about by historians, linguists and archeologists for long. The difference of the Western Slavs appeared at the expense of the spreading of the haplogroup R1b among them which is widely spread in the West. This is a trace of the peoples-bearers of Celtic languages; it is them who once inhabited that part of Europe where Slavs moved during the 5th–the 7th century. Besides, according to some data, Celts were noticed even in the outskirts of the probable Dniester ancestral home. The Southern Slavs in the Balkans stand out because of the presence of the haplogroups I1b and E3b1. The former is considered to belong to the ancestors of Thracians who in ancient times inhabited the basin of the Danube and partially the Carpathian region. There they created a number of states which were conquered by Rome later and turned into the provinces of the empire. However, it was still

The reconstruction of a Slavic “city” on the basis of the data of the researches of Polish archeologists 5

6

The formation of warriors before dramatizing a battle. The reconstruction festival in Czechia

Thracians who constituted the majority of the population on the Danube in those times when Slavs had come there. The haplogroup E3b1 is the legacy of the peoples of the Mediterranean including Greeks many of whom also appeared within the area of the Slavic expansion in the Balkans. In this case geneticists reconstructed the picture which in general terms is known both to historians (thanks to the works of ancient authors) and to archeologists (thanks to excavations). However, this new picture gives certain details which can’t be found when reading ancient texts or studying pots found during excavations, to be more exact, regarding the participation of Slavs themselves in new ethnic unions in the South of Europe. This picture is constantly specified and changed thanks to new researches in which quite a lot of money has been invested including in Russia. It even turned out there that a considerable part of Russians can find their ancestors in the depth of time which is as far from our days as two or three thousand years, i.e. also long before the “official” appearance of Slavs5. Since it is well known that their language became the language of the “interethnic communication” in a part of “the primordial Russian” lands a little more than one thousand years ago. And it is the descendants of Russians with such an old genealogy that now constitute the majority of the population of such really Russian cities as Vladimir, Novgorod, Tula, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl and Oryol. In some places their genealogy reaches even the late Bronze Age, amounting to 3000 years!6 Gold adornments, the 7th–the 8th century. Kharyivsky treasure. Ukraine

О. Евграфов «Прародитель» полутора миллионов русских жил 2,5 тысячи лет назад. Кто он был? //«Знание—сила» , №11.— 12. — 1999. (O. Yevgraphov “The primogenitor” of one and a half millions of Russians lived 2.5 thousand years ago. Who was he?). А. Клесов Поиски пропавших колен израилевых с помощью ДНКгенеалогии. Послесловие (A. Klesov The search of the lost Israeli

generation with the help of the DNA genealogy. Afterword) (http://www.dnatree.ru/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=62).

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Section 5. The search of ancestral home of Slavs A silver fibula, the 7th–the 8th century. Kharyivsky treasure. Ukraine

The Slavic army went on a campaign through a wild forest. The reconstruction festival in Czechia

In the opinion of some researchers from Russia and Belarus it is the Byelorussian population that is the nearest to “the Slavic proto-ethnos”. Their main argument is the study of the gene pool of Byelorussians, Russians and Ukrainians. It showed that it is Byelorussians who are the bearers of all the specific peculiarities of the population of their “brothers”. In other words, there are all the grounds to include Belarus into the boundaries of “the ancestral home” from where once in ancient times Slavs went on their journeys around Europe7. We have already mentioned the community pertaining to the haplogroup R1a and its connection with Middle Dnieper area, which extends the boundaries of the ancestral home beyond the territory of Belarus. It can be supported by the comparison of the results of genetic studies conducted by researchers which suggest the affinity of both Eastern and Western Slavic peoples with Ukrainians. The list given below is made in the order of a decrease of the degree of affinity with Ukrainians: 1. Slovaks; 2. Southern Byelorussians; 3. Russians (Muscovites); 4. Slovenes; 5. Russians (residents of Novgorod); 6. Northern Byelorussians; 7. Byelorussians from the center 8. Poles. Certain propinquity with Ukrainians is also demonstrated by Croats. The recent researches showed that Croats and Lemkos have common roots. So, the ancient legends of the Carpathians are true. And no such “contact points” have been found between Serbs or Bulgarians and Ukrainians so far. True, the used sample is small in quantity that’s why it can still be specified. Nonetheless, there are enough data to conclude that Byelorussians shouldn’t look for their ancestral home in Poland and Bulgarians and Serbs shouldn’t 7

look for it on the Middle Dnieper. However, in any case our Land is the ancestral home both for part of Eastern and Western Slavs and even for some of Southern Slavs. How is all the mentioned above correlated with the views of archeologists? It turns out that there are certain contact points. One of the archeological cultures which is singled out by them, the Prague-Korchak culture (it is also called the Prague culture) included in the 5th–the 6th century part of the mentioned above lands of “close relatives” and it spread (in the opinion of many researchers) from the East to the West. It also reached the Balkans and the territory of Slovenia that’s why there’s nothing strange that Slovenes occupy the fourth place in the list. However, it seems that Ukrainian archeologists will still have to reconsider some of their views and to draw a line from the Prague-Korchak culture (i.e. Sclaveni) both to Russians and to Byelorussians and not to infer that they are related to only to some nameless bearers of the Kolochin and Imenkovo cultures. On the territory of Poland in the 6th–the 7th century the local Sukov-Dzedzitsy archeological culture was formed and the contribution of the Prague culture to this process is not that obvious. Besides, not so many appropriate monuments of the Prague culture have been found within the boundaries of Poland. Probably it explains the last position of Poles in the list of “the relatives” of Ukrainians. In addition, geneticists did manage to find

The reconstruction of fortifications of a Slavic ancient settlement on the basis of the data of excavations. Czechia

Альберт Валентинов Ген всему голова. Восточные славяне начинались в Беларуси. — «Союз. Беларусь—Россия» №242 от 8 декабря 2005 г. (Albert Valentinov The gene is the staff of life. Eastern Slavs started in Belarus) (http://www.rg.ru/gaze-

ta/soyuz/2005/12/08.html).

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The Slavic army in an ambush, the 9th century. Slovakia

that very “Sarmatian trace” in Poland, the legacy of Iranian speaking nomads about which historians and poets have been writing for a few centuries. Within the boundaries of Ukraine the PragueKorchak culture neighbors upon the Penkivka culture. Some scientists connect its bearers with Antes who appeared on the pages of works of ancient authors as far back as in the 4th century. Antes were noticed on the Danube in the 6th century after which they appeared under the control of nomads – first Avars, then Bulgars. The fact that geneticists haven’t managed to find the descendants of Antes on the territory of our Land yet can as well be explained – it’s worth remembering the records that Sclaveni and Antes are two names of the same people and also the Avar devastation of the Antean land at the end of the 6th century. Probably the picture painted by domestic archeologists about the double heredity of Ukrainians both from Antes and from Sclaveni needs further specification as it is not determined from the perspective of genetics. Of course, there might be cultural and political influence on Antes, this matter should be studied by historians and archeologists, but “the blood of Antes” is still to be found with the help of geneticists. And perhaps those scientists who said that Antes didn’t belong at all or belonged not only to the Slavic clan-tribe were right? And who can say for sure what the results of such searches will be… A necklace with a pendant, the 9th century. Slovakia

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In the same way the question who Sclaveni exactly are needs further clarification. Since it is thought that not only the Kyiv culture, but also Gold adornments, the certain local types of the 9th century. Slovakia Chernyakhiv culture originate from the Prague culture. In both the mentioned archeological cultures different components are probable – from Baltic to Hunnish and Sarmatian ones. Since they found “a Sarmatian trace” in the genetics of the Polish part of the Slavic world. Such a find in Dnieper area which had a common border with Sarmatian tribes for centuries is equally probable. And how, from the perspective of genetics, do the views of linguists regarding the Baltic-Slavic language community the roots of which are lost in the Bronze Age and this is, by the way, more than 3000 years look? It turns out that they look quite adequate: Slavs (except for Southern ones) have up to 50% of R1a and Lithuanians – 34%, the residents of Latvia – as much as 41%. It seems that Ukrainians and Lithuanians had not only the same language, but also the same ancestors. It appears that the epoch of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Rus is nothing but something like the restoration of the prehistoric unity in the lands from the Baltics to the Black Sea under the conditions of the late Middle Ages. In any case historians and archeologists have a new opportunity (and a need) to take a detached view at the results of their searches of the ancestral home and the routes of the settlement of Slavs, to say nothing about their origin. There are all the grounds to think that the combined researches of geneticists and archeologists turned out to be the most fruitful and linguists, historians and everybody who can help in any way in the search of the elusive ancestral home of the Slavic world should join them. And now these searches point to the Dnieper, Volhynia, the South of Belarus and the Eastern parts of Poland.

Excavations of a Slavic dwelling of the 7th century with a stone stove. Dnieper area

Section 6

In the search of Antes fter the unsuccessful resistance to Goths and the death of their ruler Boz in 375 AD Antes disappeared from the field of view of ancient historians for long and appeared again on the pages of chronicles only at the beginning of the 6th century. Their appearance was rather sonorous because it was accompanied with not only numerous clashes with neighbors, but also with the incursion into the territory of the Byzantine Empire. However, it was easier to find their name in ancient works than to find their material traces. Archeologists managed to do it to a certain extent only in the 1950s of the 20th century. True, they had not only to search, but also to prove that the settlement, burial places and treasures which they found really belonged to Antes. Disputes still continue as regards the belonging of separate finds. There are the same disputes about who Antes really are.

A

For quite a lot time they couldn’t identify the antiquities the dating of which would correspond to the period between the disappearance of the Chernyakhiv culture in the 5th century and the appearance of monuments of the time of Rus a few hundred years later, i.e. approximately

between 500 and 900 AD. On the archeological map of the Land of this period for a long time there was something like “a blind spot” where Antes and Sclaveni who are known from ancient chronicles got lost. They tried to prove that the Chernyakhiv culture continued its existence

The map of the spreading of the Penkivka archeological culture in the 5th–the 7th century

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The remains of a stone oven in a dugout of the Penkivka culture

as “the Antean-Slavic» one. However, they couldn’t prove its existence till the times of Rus. Treasures with the help of which they constructed either “antiquities of Antes” or “antiquities of the Rus” helped a little in this situation. However, they couldn’t find more commonplace traces of Antes such as the remains of settlements, ordinary pots which would correspond to this bewitched period.

Excavations near the village of Penkivka and Antes The matter got under way when at the end of the 1950 of the 20th century near the basin of the river Tyasmyn archeologists managed to find a few ancient settlements which as it turned out, appeared and existed in those times when the Chernyakhiv culture had already dis-

appeared and “the classical ancient Russian culture” which is relatively well studied hadn’t appeared yet. The settlements in the areas with local names Makariv Island and Molocharnya near the village of Penkivka had rather modest sizes and the area of buildings didn’t exceed 16 m2. They were partially deepened into the ground, had walls of the framework or blockhouse structure. Rooms were heated with the help of massive stoves faced with masonry. These stoves had no chimney that’s why they had to air rooms. However, stones conserved heat well. There were also open hearths with clay bottoms. Researchers note that the buildings were situated without any system1, at a distance of 15–40 m from one another. They found outbuildings and pits around them. Part of the pits turned out to be storages for keeping grain. In terms of sizes the outbuildings were sometimes twice as big as the residential buildings. And there is nothing strange here as they didn’t need to be heated. All in all there could be about 10–15 dwellings in a settlement, but it seems that not all of them existed at the same time. Around settlements there are quite a lot of agricultural lands. There are a lot of lands which can be used for growing bread, pastures. Perhaps from time to time hosts left settlements and moved to another place to give the land an opportunity to have a rest.

s

A fibula which was found during excavations near Penkivka

A view on the flood plain of the Tyasmyn, the location (and the first excavations) of the settlements of the Penkivka culture 1

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They didn’t manage to determine this system in greater detail because the excavated area is rather small. Probably it was similar to the one which was used in the settlements of the Luka-Rayky culture – you can find more details at the beginning of the section “Between the Carpathians and the Dnieper”.

Section 6. In the search of Antes

The treasures of the Iron Island

Pots of the Penkivka culture from the Southern Buh

The bearers of the Penkivka culture provided themselves not only with food, but also with the necessary iron instruments and even weapons. The fact that during excavations they found products of silver, although they were not very good – a fibula, a neck ring-torc suggests certain wealth of the local population. The settlements where only molded vessels were found are considered to be the most ancient. These are pots with a small edge. In the 7th century ceramics made on a potter's wheel appeared. This is the probable result of the acquaintance with more advanced potter’s techniques of some of their neighbors. Dead men were burnt by the local population and the ashes were buried in pits with the diameter of 40–60 cm – rather shallow, only 0.3–0.6 m from the modern surface. They also found the remains of cremations which were put in pots. The dead man was accompanied to the other world with rather modest gifts: adornments of bronze or silver, a fastener-fibula for cloaks. A few traits, to be more exact expressive molded vessels, dwellings with stone stoves made it possible to rather quickly find other settlements and burial grounds of this archeological culture which is called the Penkivka culture. They were found on the left bank of the Dnieper, in the basin of the Southern Buh, further to the West behind the Dniester and even on the territory of Romania.

The bearers of the Penkivka culture bequeathed not only the glory of fierce warriors or modest settlements with broken vessels. They also found other equally interesting and important traces of their activity. In 1960 archeologists were invited to carry out excavations on one of the islands of the Southern Buh, near the city of Haivoron. Not far from it they decided to build a hydroelectric power plant with a water storage basin. The new level of water was supposed to rise to the highest point; diverse monuments of archeology – from settlements of the neolithic age and the Trypillian culture to the traces of the stay of ancient Slavs here appeared at the bottom of another “man-made sea”. On one of the islands where the foundation consisted of huge granite blocks they found the traces of the production of iron. This island was rather big (as compared to the size of the river): almost one kilometer long and from 250 to 300 wide. Nobody lived there as in spring freshets covered this place with a layer of water. The island didn’t even have its own name that’s why the workers of the expedition gave their own name, “Iron Island”. It was preserved under this name in reports about the expedition and now it is buried under water. The traces of the stay of people, as it was determined, was covered with river silt with the thickness of one meter or even more; the river had worked on this for a few centuries. They managed to see something only on the bank, in steeps. It is from here that the planned excavations thanks to which they found the remains of the ancient “metallurgical complex” started. Besides the remains of stoves and bloomery furnaces they also found quite a lot of fragments of vessels and other things the belongA knife which was found on the Iron Island

A general view of the bank of the Iron Island near the city of Haivoron before the beginning of the excavations

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus A pot of the Penkivka culture from the Iron Island

Excavations on the Iron Island

Excavations of the remains of “the metallurgical complex” of the Penkivka culture on the Iron Island

The remains of a hearth which were found during excavations on the Iron Island

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ing of which to the Penkivka culture didn’t arouse any doubt. In their report researchers indicated 21 objects as the remains of hearths and 4 more objects as the remains of agglomeration furnaces. The walls of hearths were made of clay to which they added sand. Such a mixture is more resistant to high temperatures. The constructions themselves were rounded in section, their diameter amounted to 40–45 cm. At the top they narrowed to 13 cm. The thickness of walls amounted to from 5–6 to 1 cm. Only the lower parts of hearths were preserved as in order to extract iron they had to disassemble a hearth-bloomery furnace every time. The total height of a construction could amount to 70–80 cm. In hearths and near them they found a lot of iron slag. Hearths were placed in groups of two-three hearths and it was clear that they could work only simultaneously. They found the traces of the repair of walls, so they were used a few times. When constructions couldn’t be used any more, they built new ones not far from them. But first they needed to prepare the raw materials for melting. Not far from them they found four agglomeration furnaces of a few types. One of them was oval in plan, with the sole of stone plates the slots between which were stuck with clay. On this surface there was a layer of the same clay with the thickness of up to 6 cm. Among the remains of furnaces they found fragments of crushed and burnt iron ore. Such furnaces were necessary for ore preparation, they were the last link in the process which started with its extraction. Then ore was transported to the island probably by river. Then at the site ore was crushed and washed; they had plenty of water as there was a river near them. The received mass was dried and burnt in agglomeration

The lower part of the hearth where they founded metal

Section 6. In the search of Antes

The remains of an ancient bloomery furnace

furnaces in order to concentrate the ore. It was sufficient to reach the temperature of 300–400 °C. Each of these furnaces could give a few dozens of kilos of ore for one cycle and the hearth could hold only 10–12. In other words, one furnace gave work to a few hearths. Hearths-bloomery furnaces were loaded with concentrated ore and charcoal layer-by-layer. The places of its burning on the island were not found, probably it was brought to the island from the territory where there was enough wood. Then the coals were set on fire and they waited till everything was burnt properly. When the process ended, from every hearth they took out iron bloom with the weight of up to 3 kg which was covered with a layer of slag. The iron was taken away by craftsmen and only heaps of slag were left for archeologists. The excavated two dozens of hearths could give 70–75 kg of iron for one melting. It was again probably taken away by boats along the river. So, somebody’s idea to establish “a metallurgical complex” on the island was extremely felicitous in all respects – from supplying the raw materials and melting to concentrating ore and even taking it out. In the 1970s of the 20th century in Kyiv researchers performed experiments connected with receiving iron with the help of similar hearths. Right near the laboratory (and it was

The process of making iron turned out to be rather difficult and effortful. The experiment at the Institute of Archeology

The remains of an agglomeration furnace where iron ore was prepared for further processing

situated on the territory of the Vydubychi Monastery, in outbuildings) they built copies of ancient hearths-bloomery furnaces. However, it turned out that it was not that easy to receive metal in practice. It seemed that the technology was primitive, the devices were even simpler, but they had to apply great effort. After the end of the experiment iron bars and slag adorned the flowerbed near the laboratory for long, reminding of the attempts of researchers of antiquities to receive iron according to the technologies of the ancestors. In the times of the Penkivka culture the Iron Island which is now more known as the Haivoron metallurgical center could provide a few Slavic clans with raw materials for making not only cultivator points or nails, but also weapons. Probably, just like in the times of Gothic campaigns, bloomery furnaces smoked all around the Slavic world, foretelling a war soon? It is quite possible. Since researchers think that it is those bellicose Antes from the works of ancient authors who are behind the Penkivka culture. Those Antes who once went to the distant Danube, to the borders of the still powerful Byzantine state, the successor of Rome. Some of them settled down there, others came back home, either to the Dnieper or to the Southern Buh. It is clear that during these journeys they couldn’t do without the products of the Iron Island.

An experiment connected with the reproduction of ancient technologies of iron extraction at the Institute of Archeology is carried out by V. I. Bidzilya and D. P. Nedopako. The 1970s of the 20th century

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Who are the bearers of the Penkivka culture? As it often happens, there are different thoughts regarding the ethnic belonging of the bearers of the Penkivka culture among archeologists. Part of scientists thought and think that they are those Antes who “raged” in Danube area from the beginning of the 6th century. The sources of the Penkivka culture are considered to be in part of the Chernyakhiv culture, some scientists specify – «in its Slavic part”. The roots of the latter are lost in preChernyakhiv antiquities of Dnieper area and its outskirts. Scientists have no doubt concerning the multi-ethnic character of the Chernyakhiv culture that’s why its successors might preserve the traits which were typical of all the probable components – from Goths to Sarmatians-Alans. By the way, it is confirmed by “Antean treasures”. The presence of “non-Slavic traits” in the Penkivka culture gave grounds to claim that actually these were the monuments of Bulgars-Kutrigurs, nomads. True, these conclusions were contradicted by such data as the territory of the spreading of the Penkivka culture which covered not only (and not merely) steppes, the character of settlements. The latter according to finds, the presence of stationary dwellings and finally the location didn’t belong to nomadscattle-breeders, but to grain growers. It’s another matter that these grain growers could appear under the control of bellicose steppe tribes. Things like that happened on the territory of the Land, for example, in the times of Scythians. However, in the North the people of the Penkivka culture moved to the rivers Ros (on the right bank of the Dnieper) and Psel (on the left bank). In the South they inhabited the outskirts of modern Dnipropetrovs’k, in the East they appeared within the boundaries of the Kharkiv region. They found the traces of their settlements even on the island Khortytsia. There are also traces of the Penkivka culture beyond the boundaries of the Land. For instance, a dugout with typical fragments of pots was excavated in the place of the Roman fortress Dinogetia, there are similar materials on the territory of Moldova and Romania. All in all about three hundred Penkivka monuments are known and in the West the territory of their spreading coincides to a certain extent with the places where Byzantine chroniclers indicated the presence of Antes. It is equally important that the dating of the Penkivka antiquities within the limits of the end of Pots of the Penkivka culture 2

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the 5th–the 6th and the beginFragments of the ning – the middle of the 7th adornment-torc century coincides with the from the chronology of Antean settlement near the village of campaigns to the Danube Penkivka on the whole. According to the researches on the Iron Island, the Antean “defense industry” which was properly supplied with its own raw materials was behind these campaigns. As for certain diversity of the Penkivka culture, this tribal union might as well include not only the descendants of ancient Slavs. It is conspicuously confirmed by the finds of the burial places with “typically Antean” accouterments and adornments which were made not according to the rite of cremation. At the same time dead men were burnt not only by Slavs, but also by their neighbors – Huns, Bulgars and part of Sarmatians. What impresses is almost complete absence of fortifications of ancient settlements in the area of the spreading of the Penkivka culture till the beginning of the 7th century. Till this time we see only small villages which are similar to eponymous monuments; the area of the biggest of them doesn’t exceed 1–2 hectares. The interesting thing is that the bearers of the Penkivka culture settled down in the regions where there were still powerful ramparts of ancient settlements of the Scythian time. However, the new rulers of these lands didn’t care either about repairing or using these fortifications. Only in the 7th century some of the bearers of the Penkivka culture showed some interest to these places. For example, this is how a town in the ancient settlement Pastyrske appeared2. Such neglect of danger under the conditions of living on the border with the steppe can be explained in a different way. Either there was no formidable enemy in the steppe or nomads who roamed there were friendly to them. There were descendants of Huns, Bulgars or somebody else there, but it seems that during the 6th century the bearers of the Penkivka culture didn’t consider them to be their enemies. So, it is quite possible that at a certain stage of its existence the Penkivka culture represented some kind of a tribal union which was built both on the ethnic basis and on the community of political interests of the multi-tribal population of Dnieper area and its near and distant outskirts. Since everybody had to survive somehow – both grain growers and the descendants of bellicose rulers of the steppe in the chaos which followed the collapse of the Hunnish state in the second half of the 5th century.

You can find more details about this place in the section: “The city of craftsmen on the border with the steppe”.

Section 7

The treasures of Antes t turned out rather difficult to determine the belonging of such an exotic category of finds as treasures to Antes. At first almost all finds which they came across in Dnieper area were attributed to «the antiquities of Antes”. The main criterion was the dating of the 6th–the 7th century, i.e. the times of those very Danube campaigns. Indeed, in those times quite a lot of things which were sometimes made rather far from the boundaries of the Land were brought to its territory. Among them there were things which had been made in workshops of the Byzantine Empire – holy vessels, pottery, adornments, parts of belts and weapons. Sometimes next to these things there were things which had been made according to the traditions of nomadic tribes who were supposed to live near Antes at that time. At the same time, if you have a closer look at these objects, they can really tell you quite a lot of things about their owners and about those distant and so unquiet times.

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Where did the treasures come from? The Martynivka treasure, the Maloirzhavetsk treasure and the Vilkhovets treasure are considered to be the treasures of the Penkivka culture. The Vilkhovets treasure was found in a settlement of this culture; besides, precious things were hidden in a typical Penkivka pot. There is also a group of the so-called Kharkiv-Kursk treasures which is grouped far in the East – the Koziivka treasure, the Nova Odessa treasure, the Koloskovo treasure and others. You can also add to this list the treasure which was found near Trubchevsk in the Bryansk region, in Russia. True, it was hidden in a vessel of the Kolochin culture, but the set of things was typically “Antean»: finger-shaped fibulas, clasps, parts of belts, adornments. In the report about its finding there is a phrase that these precious things belonged “to a Slav who had run away from the barbarian lawlessness”. This find is dated to the 7th century, the times when Antes, to put it mildly, caused a lot of trouble to their neighbors. If only the authors of Byzantine chronicles could read those words from the modern report… Probably the most famous treasure the Antean belonging of which arouses no doubt among most researchers is the one which was found in distant 1909 near the village of Martynivka in the Kaniv district1. The

biggest part of the treasure is now kept in the National Museum of the History of Ukraine and part of it is exhibited in the Museum of Historical Valuables. A few things went to London where the visitors of the British Museum can see them.

The place of finding of the Martynivka treasure 1

You can find its complete description in the article: Б. А. Рыбаков Древние русы// Советская археология, 1953. — Т. XVII. — С. 76—89 (B.A. Rybakov The ancient Rus). By the way, in this work the belonging of the treasure was attributed not to Antes, but to “the ancient Rus” who, in the opinion of the author of the article, were members of the Antean union.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Vessels made by Byzantine craftsmen. The Martynivka treasure

The treasure also includes Byzantine vessels, sets of plates for decorating belts, fibulas, women’s adornments, parts of military equipage. All of this was made mostly of silver, on some of the things gilding was preserved. There was a time when it was thought that the so-called finger-shaped fibulas were typically Antean, but later it turned out that in those times in Europe such products were spread not only among Slavs. Such treasures could include Antean trophies which were received during wars with neighbors, both with Byzantines and with nomads. However, the latter could as well rob anybody, should an opportunity arise2. However, adornments and other things could be received as gifts. In other words, there were plenty of opportunities and circumstances. We can consider some of them, basing on the place and circumstances due to which a treasure could be left. However, it is hardly possible to receive the complete information about its owner. It is equally difficult to determine now the purpose of some things which were found. Some finds allow getting acquainted rather visually not only with the peculiarities of the way of life, costumes, but also with some customs of those times. The latter seems especially interesting since quite a lot of ancient customs were included into traditions, for example, of the knightly times. In the Martynivka treasure such things are silver parts of belts.

A warrior’s belt In the Middle Ages one of the attributes of knights was a knightly belt. He received it during initiation, this thing accompanied its owner during campaigns, battles and court balls. Everybody who met a man with a knightly belt could immediately find out his status without putting unnecessary questions. So, the roots of the tradition of wearing a belt are lost in the time of the great migration of peoples. Already at that time the most important weapon was a sword which could have a dif-

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ferent design and length, but you certainly needed to always have it with you. They designed a rather complex scheme of the fastening of a sword sheath which made it convenient to wear a rather long blade. This way a belt became an integral part of a military outfit. Clothes have been a visit card of their owners since the ancient times. Everything was important: fabric, its color, cut, details… In other words, a special attitude to a military outfit and its attributes has a history which amounts to millenniums. When something new appears in the military uniform and its attributes, it in its turn starts “acquiring” various details. The same thing happened to the belt. At first the basis of the belt consisted of a narrow strip of leather with a metal clasp. But the strip of leather could be adorned with removable metal plates. It would also be better to reinforce the end of the belt with metal. Perpendicular strips of leather which needed to be adorned properly as well were attached to the main belt. Thus, the full set of metal plates could amount to a dozen of products. The material depended on wealth, but the most important thing was the position of the owner of a belt in the social hierarchy: from bronze to silver and even gold. A certain selection of belts started forming as far back as in the times of the ruling of Goths and Huns. The images on plates constitute certain interest. At first Components of the belt set from the Martynivka treasure

The description of treasures which most likely belonged to nomads is given in the section: “The treasures of Antes” and “Bulgaria in the Pontic steppes”.

Section 7. The treasures of Antes Tamgas on the plates of the belt set from the Martynivka treasure

sight some of them resemble a stylized image of plants. At the same time some of them resemble tamgas of the Sarmatian time. So, the belt could suggest to which clan-tribe its owner belonged. Researchers point out a diversity of plates from the Martynivka treasure. More than one set can be formed of them. It is another matter whether all these belts belonged to the same owner or they are trophies acquired in victorious battles and clashes. There are also plates with tamgas in other treasures with “Antean antiquities”. There are images which are similar or even identical to the ones from the Martynivka treasure. Were such symbols used among Antes or were they gifts or military trophies? Researchers have something to think about. It is known from historical chronicles that Antes had to give battles to Avars the military elite of whom wore belts decorated with plates. True, it is known that at first Slavs lost the war to Avars. In some tamgas which are depicted on some things from the Martynivka treasure there are images which are similar to the trident of the times of knyaz Volodymyr. Thus, the Sarmatian-Alan contribution to the formation of the military culture of Antes and Sclaveni is rather noticeable.

An ear piece or a cheek piece? In the Martynivka treasure there are two objects which for some time were called “ear pieces” in the sense that it is a kind of women’s adornments which they wore above an ear and not a headset for a player. Academician B.O. Rybakov even found certain ethnographic analogs of such adornments some time ago. Ear pieces from the Martynivka treasure, the décor of cheek pieces of ancient helmets

A helmet of the time of the great migration of peoples, a find from the territory of Serbia

One product is almost intact, the other one is broken in two halves. The height of the one which has been preserved is about 10.5 cm. The thickness of the plate (it is silver) which was used to make them amounts only to 0.3–0.4 mm, i.e. less than the thickness of roofing iron (0.55 mm). In terms of thickness this silver is closer to a tin. Such a thing, if it is used in the suggested way, i.e. if it is fastened to a strip which is put on hair, can be damaged rather easily. To say nothing about the fact that its edge looks rather sharp and can hurt fingers when adjusting it on the head. It is only in the graphic reconstruction that the painter folded the edges of the plate, in reality they were not like that. Besides, one opening for fastening a rather big (10.5×8.5 cm) plate is clearly not enough. However, researchers paid attention to the fact that in the times of the Martynivka treasure there was a rather popular product which those “ear pieces” would fit perfectly. This thing was also worn on the head, however not by women, but by warriors. It is another matter that fierce warriors were nothing loath to boast of expensive, adorned with gold and silver, armor and weapons just like women liked to boast of precious diadems, temporal rings and necklaces. We are speaking about helmets a certain amount of which, mostly wealthily adorned, have survived to this day. Helmets in the 4th–the 7th century, just like in previous centuries, in addition to a hard dome were equipped with the protection of the face, cheek pieces. They were movable and were fastened to the lower part of the dome of the helmet. Of course, they were made of iron and from the reverse side where the surface touched the face they were sewed round with leather or cloth. And from the top they were adorned depending on the wealth of the owner including silver and even gold straps. And it was not necessary to make these adornments massive and thick since the iron itself served as protection and it is not very pleasant to wear a helmet which is overloaded with adornments. The straps were adorned with embossing, gilded and also insertions were made of bright stones depending on the status and the wealth of the customer. Both in terms of

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Modern reconstruction of cheek pieces of a helmet of the time of the great migration of peoples

outlines and thickness the plates from the Martynivka treasure quite correspond to the similar adornments of the helmets of the early Middle Ages. Such a plate could be held in place by leather (or cloth) trimming of a cheek piece that’s why one opening was sufficient to fasten it to the iron basis. The fact that both straps from the treasure were intended for the right cheek piece makes it possible to assume that they belonged to two helmets. The state of the things allows assuming that they were torn on the surface without thinking of taking the thing out intact. It resembles gathering trophies in the battlefield. It is another matter whose heads these two helmets could protect. In those times in Europe such protective armor was used by Goths, Slavs, Avars. Everybody who could afford to order (or pick up in the battlefield) such a beautiful and very useful thing. Although you cannot always use a helmet which was taken off from the enemy since the size may not match because this is an individual thing. But it won’t be difficult to decide how to use the silver which was torn off from a helmet. Since “only” silver was used in the décor of helmets, most likely they didn’t belong to some king or knyaz because they could afford gold adornments. However, these warriors could belong to a respected person, be part of an elite detachment the appearance of which the owner himself was supposed to take care of. And it happened that one day the owners of these helmets died in

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Cheek pieces for helmets of the Roman pattern, the first centuries AD

a battle and their weapons and armor went to the victors. The latter took everything they could (or had time) off them, not wanting to use only iron. And these were not the only military trophies which the Martynivka treasure contained.

Dancing men In the treasure there are a few things which during the 20th century became something like a visual symbol of the mysterious Antes. These are images of people and animals made of silver. The most famous are four images of men dressed in embroidered shirts and their faces with mustaches are surrounded by wide, gilded “nimbuses”. Their parted knees and hands which are put on them make an impression that these respected people are dancing; there is even an opinion that they are dancing the Ukrainian hopak. Such a combination of the traditional clothes and the dance are considered by some people to be implicit evidence of the belonging of the mustached dancers to the Slavic clantribe. Others paid attention to the fact that a person who sits in the saddle can also be portrayed in such a way and in general a similar type “Dancing men” from the Martynivka treasure

Section 7. The treasures of Antes of images is spread in the art of the Byzantine Empire – from mosaic to metal products. And in those times embroidered clothes were worn by many peoples… There appeared to be five images of animals in the treasure and part of researchers consider them to be the images of horses. True, these horses are somewhat predatory, with big grinning teeth. In other words, these are scary creatures. It was assumed that each man must correspond to a pair of animals, i.e. all in all at first there were supposed to be eight horses-beasts. All figures, both men and animals, have two openings each (with the diameter of 1–2 cm) for fastening to some surface. So, a question arises: to what surface? In the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, in the showcase where quite a lot of things from the Martynivka treasure are exhibited you can see an interesting picture-reconstruction. It portrays “the Antean knyaz” on the clothes of whom, to be more exact on the breast, the complete set of men and animals – all in all 12 of them are sewed. Such a thing would look rather solemn. True, there are researchers who think that it is impossible to determine the exclusive belonging of adornments to a men’s or women’s costume. A lot has been written about the fact that these images are related to ancient clothes. However, when studying the men and animals more carefully, some questions arise. First of all, is it enough to have only two openings to fasten rather massive and big images to cloth? Since few people pay attention to the description of these things which can be read in exposition catalogues. Thus, the height of men amounts to 7.5 cm with the maximum width of 4.5 cm and the length of “horses” amounts to as much as 9.5 cm. The thickness of plates amounts to 2–3 cm; these are images which are cast in silver that’s why all in all the set of 16 objects was rather heavy. These products can’t be compared with gold pendants which were sewed on clothes in Scythian times. They are small, of little weight, but have mostly not two but as many as four openings. Besides, the Fantastic animals from the Martynivka treasure

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A magnified image of the upper part of a man from the Martynivka treasure

edges of those products which were sewed on clothes are, as a rule, straight. It is also done with such a purpose so that the plates don’t catch on one another or on adornments on the clothes of a male neighbor or a female neighbor. And the Martynivka animals and men have too many protruding parts – teeth, hoofs, elbows and knees which can catch on anything. Let’s try to imagine what consequences the Antean knyaz could have after a fraternal embrace with a high-ranking official with similar adornments on his clothes or with a woman? Besides, it would be difficult to place all those 16 images even on a wide breast of the knyaz if we take into account their real sizes3. It has already been suggested that these things could adorn the images of deities which were installed in an ancient sanctuary. Indeed, in ancient chronicles there are mentions about customs to adorn the images of gods cut in wood with straps of precious metals. However, the Martynivka figures look too small for such statues. Unless we are speaking about some private small sanctuary of the knyaz. If we go back to the Scythian gold, among it there is a considerable

A craftsman who would undertake to adorn the knyaz’s clothes in such a way would have a piece of cloth with the height of 35– 45 cm and the width of 30–40 cm. The height of one set of plates (a man+2 animals) amounts to 23.5 cm with the height of 7.5 cm.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus such things were used. These are shields which were not only an important part of protective armor, but also were supposed to show the status of their owner to others. On the territory of Europe there are finds of silver and gilded straps for the shields of that time. These are images of warriors (infantrymen and horsemen), different predators4. There are such finds which in terms of sizes quite correspond to the things from the Martynivka treasure. They continued to adorn shields with similar images as far back as in the times of Vikings; true, Modern reconstruction of a shield of the early Middle Ages with adornments-plates plates became a little big(on the basis of the materials of archeological finds) ger then. These images formed whole epic scenes the contents of which were probably group of products which quite clear in those times. These could be pairs of horsewas intended for adorning men who met in a single battle, groups of animals which cases for the bow. In this chased somebody. Such things were fastened either circleinstance the plates could have wise, allowing some space from the edge of the shield, or any form as they were fastened by means of horizontal rows. The to a flat, rather firm leather surMartynivka set corresponds to the face. Besides, rather big pendants scheme of fastening circlewere fastened to shields – let’s wise better when you can remember all those running deer, turn the shield in any jumping panthers, fish and other repdirection and everyresentatives of the wild fauna. If we thing looks the same. compare the Martynivka figures Thus, we can try to place the with something, it is better reconstructed set of 4 men to compare them with and 8 animals. The only these products. question is how to Indeed, in the 6th–the group them. We can 7th century there is such a choose pairs of animals category of military armor and place a man between for the adornment of which them. Another variant is to place a dancer in the middle A horseman of the early and an animal to the right Middle Ages with a shield which is adorned and to the left of him. The with figured metal total length of three plates straps. Reconstruction is about 25–30 cm if you on the basis of the place them with small spaces. findings of excavations from Western Europe The length of a circle of an ordi-

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Such a style of the decoration of shields was known in the Land as far back as in the Scythian times – let’s remember bronze and even gold plates in the form of fish, deer and other animals, both real and fictional.

Section 7. The treasures of Antes Sets of a man and a pair of animals Reconstruction of a shield which is adorned with figures of men and animals from the Martynivka treasure

nary shield of that time with the diameter of 60–70 cm amounted to 1.8–2 m. It is enough to place all four sets with an interval of 10–15 cm, even allowing 5 cm from the edge of the shield. Since in ancient times it was reinforced by sewing around with leather or fastening iron straps. Try to imagine bright silver figures, partly gilt, on the surface of red leather. There is also an opinion that silver figures could be used to adorn a saddlebow which was made of wood. Indeed, such constructions are known for that time just as the tradition to adorn them with metal straps – let’s take the saddles of Huns, for example. In this case only one set is necessary to adorn one saddle – a man and two animals (if you adorn only the front side). Probably an additional study of these things by scientists will allow one day determining in greater detail the history of their creation and use and also finding out something about the destiny of the figures after they left the surface of the product (a shield, a saddle or something else) for which they were initially made. It is also quite possible that during a thorough study of the things from the Martynivka treasure they will manage to determine some other “spare parts” for the ancient shield and so on. For instance, these may be some rounded pendants which could be reinforced as separators between groups of images. The fact that some figures are broken off can be considered as the evidence in favor of the fact that these images were fastened not to cloth, but to a firmer surface. And they were fastened not with the help of threads which can be easily cut or even torn off. It looks like the plates were just torn out with a bit of the basis, breaking near the openings for nails. It happens in a battlefield when they tear precious loot off the body and armor of the defeated adversary. And the fact that in the treasure there is no complete set of figures means that they might as well be torn off from a shield during a fight when its owner tried to parry the blow of a sword, a spear or a battle axe. And if the owner of the shield, probably a high-ranking person, appeared in the thick of the fight, it means that it was a really fierce and sanguinary battle.

For quite a long time the men and animals from the Martynivka treasure were considered to be unique and there was no doubt concerning their belonging. However, later researchers managed to gather a few dozens of similar products and even molds for their production. The geography of the finds is from Asia and the Caucasus to Western Europe. They were found both in burial places of men and women. In the opinion of researchers, the images are typical of the Byzantine toreutics and they can be related to quite a Christian plot which deals with lions and Saint Daniel. It is another matter why pagans-Antes were so fond of biblical plots. It is thought that it could be an attempt to follow the Byzantine high fashion. So, a question arises: if the treasure really belongs to Antes, then who did the shield (or the saddle) belong to? To strangers, or did they fight against their own fellow tribesmen, Antes? Thus, we have approached the question who hid this treasure one and a half thousand years ago so that it was found near the village of Martynivka of the Kaniv district at the beginning of the 20th century?

Who is the owner of the treasure? If we sum it up, it turns out that it is not that easy to definitely and explicitly determine the belonging of the Martynivka and other similar treasures. In this case the range of things is rather diverse and they have been gathered on quite a broad territory – from the lands of the Byzantine Empire to the steppes of Northern Pontus. The

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus A fibula from the Martynivka treasure

treasure includes things which could belong both to men’s and women’s clothes. There are things which are similar to the products of craftsmen who worked in the ancient settlement Pastyrske5. We have already mentioned that on the basis of some signs the Martynivka treasure resembles the collection of military trophies during a long and unquiet life. The treasures were dated in a different way. Then named the 6th century (the time of the appearance of separate things), the 7th century (represented in the treasure best of all) and also the second half of the 7th century, i.e. the time between 650–700 AD. In the latter case we can say with confidence that for that time only cherished memory – of the campaigns to the Danube and communication of knyazes with Byzantine high-ranking officials was supposed to remain from the past Antean might. It is thought that at that time the area of the Penkivka culture appeared in the zone of influence of nomads; quite

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A part of a horse harness. The Martynivka treasure

a lot of villages and even fortified settlements stopped their existence. In this case the finds of “Antean treasures” in the North and in the East become clear – this is where they ran away from dangerous Dnieper area. And those who didn’t manage to run away hid their family treasures on the spot, hoping to come back. However, it is quite possible that the treasures with the things connected with military accoutrement and the horse harness could be buried by nomads who pursued and robbed the remaining Antes. But this is not all. Remembering the custom of “the children of Odin” (and not only them) to bury in the ground silver and gold with the purpose of using precious things in the other world, or to dedicate part of the plunder to gods, it is also possible to explain the appearance of treasures which are similar to the Martynivka one. Then it becomes clear why nobody came back for the silver as it was not supposed to be brought back to this world.

You can find more details about this settlement and its craftsmen in the section: “The city of craftsmen on the border with the steppe”.

Section 8

Knyaz Kyi and his city very city has their own legend concerning the circumstances and sometimes even the time of their foundation. It would be very odd if Kyiv didn’t have such a legend, taking into account its significance in the history of states the capital of which it was at different times. Where there are such legends, there are also quite a lot of people who want to find their roots, to determine exactly what is true, what and how everything happened in reality, what didn’t happen and what couldn’t happen at all because it could never happen. In 1982 the glorious city above the Dnieper solemnly celebrated a respectful date – the 1500-year anniversary from the time it was founded. A few monuments have already been put up in honor of the founders of the city. Every tourist can see earth ramparts of “the city of Kyi” which were carefully restored on Starokyivska Hora and also read the corresponding inscriptions on the stone plates which were put up here. It seems that all the necessary things have been done and have been found and explained in detail by outstanding experts to the public. And all the same disputes concerning the founders of the city, its location, the time and circumstances of this event still continue.

E

The time of legends One thousand five hundred years ago. The fifth century AD. It’s then that the most famous and popular legends of Europe were born: the legends about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the treasures of Nibelungs. There are such ancient legends in our Land too. One of them is connected with the founders of Kyiv, knyaz Kyi, his brothers – Schek, Khoryv and their sister Lybid. Sometimes ancient legends interweave. Thus, in “The Song of the Nibelungs” they mention a noisy crowd of warriors from Kyiv who came to congratulate the fiancée of the ruler of Huns, A coin Etzel-Attila. True, scientists explain: in honor of Kyi this colorful episode was finally written six hundred years later, when only terrifying memories remained from Attila; however, Kyiv was known in Europe as the capital of a powerful and fabulously wealthy state. And all the same such a “meeting” in ancient legends boggles the imagination. Quite a lot of researchers think, not without reason, that behind all ancient legends there may be quite real people and events the memory of which became part of the legends. Following these considerations, they looked for and found what they wanted: somebody found Troy, somebody found Camelot, the capital city of King Arthur, and somebody found treasures or tombs of ancient rulers. So, the search of the material traces of knyaz Kyi and the city which was built by him, taking into account such a world experience, doesn’t look something exotic.

Indeed, they have managed to find quite a lot of things. They even found something that wasn’t mentioned in ancient legends. For instance, a huge ancient settlement of the Scythian time in the outskirts of Kyiv. It was so big that you could as well place a medieval city and even more than one city on its territory. But the name of this settlement was not preserved in legends; so, we have another forgotten legend of past times.

The “official” history The official history about the foundation of Kyiv became part of the chronicle, the famous “the Tale of Bygone Years”. More than eight centuries have passed since it was written. It means that its author worked in the times which were twice as close to knyaz Kyi. This is what he wrote: “There were three brothers, Kyi, Schek, and Khoryv, and their sister was named Lybid. Kyi lived upon the hill where the Borychiv trail now is, and Schek dwelt upon the hill now named Shchekavytsya, while on the third resided Khoryv, after whom this hill is named Khorevytsya. They built a city in honor of their oldest brother and named it Kyiv. Around the city lay a great pine-forest in which they used to catch wild beasts. These men were wise and prudent; they were called Polyanians, and there are Polyanians descended from them living in Kyiv to this day…” It’s worth noting that already at that time the chronicler had to prove this point of view. Perhaps in ancient times there were also enough skeptics in Rus who were always ready to look for contradictions and reservations in the offi-

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus he wouldn’t have gone to the king’s place” and wouldn’t have had high honor from him. Moreover, it appears that after visiting Tsargrad Kyi managed to build a town on the Danube – Kyivets where he wanted to live together with his family. Indeed, why would a transporter found a town on the Danube? Such an affair is worthy of a knyaz. In one of the late annalistic versions you can even find such a detail that Kyi allegedly went to the king’s place with military force, i.e. was at war with the king. It is hard to say whether it is true or not; besides, this list of chronicles is dated to the 16th century. There was enough time so that new details and legends from the life of either a knyaz or a transporter could appear. The foundation of Kyiv, a miniature from the Radzivill Chronicle, the 14th century

cial history of the country: “somebody says, being in ignorance, that Kyi was a transporter; there was a trail near Kyiv from the other bank of the Dnieper then; so, they say: “To the trail, to Kyiv”. Just like that; Kyi is not a knyaz, but a transporter. Nonetheless, the first historians of the Land didn’t give up and looked for new arguments which they considered to be rather weighty: “If Kyi had been a transporter,

Myths and reality In ancient times there were quite a lot of tribes and peoples who lived without written history. It was successfully replaced by tales, legends, myths – as they say, “oral folk arts”. This art appears and lives according to its own unwritten rules and laws. The fact that there are such laws arouses no doubt among scientists who study myths and

A monument to the founders of Kyiv in Independence Square in Kyiv. Foreign tourists sometimes call it “the monument to Vikings”

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Section 8. Knyaz Kyi and his city Brothers-founders of Kyiv, fragments of the monument. Costumes, adornments and weapons were gathered by the author from different epochs including epochs which are rather remote from the probable date of the foundation of the city

always try to take into account, at least approximately, when such an event occurred. They also look for some clues in the works of ancient historians, sometimes they find them, but later it can turn out that they didn’t find exactly what they were looking for. legends. They noticed one striking trait of folk arts a long time ago. It turns out that at different times, among different tribes and peoples there may be myths and legends which are rather similar in terms of the plot and characters, especially if we are speaking about the adventures of the persons from the ruling knyaz or royal kin and also about the foundation of cities, especially capital ones. There are quite a lot of explanations to this striking fact. One of them lies on the, so to say, family plane. Since the founders of the capital are persons from the ruling family or clan, it is quite natural that a legend will mention a certain number of brothers and sisters. The ratio can be different: it can be 3:2 or 7:2. Of course, among them there will be older and younger relatives and older relatives, according to the tradition, played a more important role in such affairs. The fact that it is children and not parents who travel and found something is also quite natural. Since in real life according to the laws of the tribal society it is the younger generation that is supposed to do such things. Of course, the representatives of the ruling clan were the directing force in such processes – there must be somebody who could take care of organizational questions in such a difficult matter as founding a new town or a new village. Since such events really happened without exceptions in the life of all peoples who inhabited the lands of Europe in ancient times, therefore each of them created legends which were similar in some parts and different in some other parts. For millenniums these legends acquired new details. However, in any case scientists

“The Dnieper city” In search of the founders of Kyiv there were attempts to find the persons which are connected with this event, even if they are beyond the boundaries of the Slavic world. Thus, some time ago a legend about the travels of Saint Andrew who, having come to the hills of the Dnieper, predicted the appearance of a great city here which would be famous for its shrines appeared. True, there is no problem with determining the date of this event in the most general terms: it’s the first century AD. In those times on the territory of Kyiv there were a few settlements of the Zarubyntsi culture, but none of them could have pretensions to the status of a town – either in terms of sizes or in terms of the availability of fortifications. However, if a city already existed, would the prediction be necessary? A big resonance in the scientific and public community was caused by the theory concerning the Gothic and Khazar contributions to the foundation of Kyiv. In historical works dedicated to the deeds of Goths and also in old sagas they mention the capital of the Gothic kingdom, the city called Danprastad (or Danprastadir), i.e. the city on the Dnieper. This was supposed to be a big and wealthy city that was worthy of the huge state the boundaries of which as far back as sixteen centuries ago in the North reached the Baltic Sea and in the South reached the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. And as far back as in the 19th century scientists rather seriously discussed the possibility of the fact that Danprastadir could be the ancestor of princely Kyiv. And they referred to the finds of antiquities of the time of the Chernyakhiv culA commemorative token in honor of Saint Andrew which was put up in the center of ancient Kyiv

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The view of the center of modern Kyiv in a satellite image. Indications in red are the locations of ancient cities of Kyi, Schek and Khoryv

ture and the treasures of Roman coins which had been found on the territory of the city. Some scientists thought that after Goths went away, the local population, having gained independence, renamed the city as Kyiv; probably they built some more constructions and named it in honor of Kyi, their knyaz. The problem with the identification of the location of Danprastadir is connected with the fact that it is practically impossible to do it on the basis of the available descriptions. The dark forest and the sacred grave which are mentioned in texts, as it seems, can be compared with Kyiv and its outskirts. There were lots of forests here, all of them were dark and there was also a grave here, Askold’s one, but who knows what it was called before… Everything would be fine if they managed to find more convincing traces of the existence of the city in the 3rd–the 4th century, more valuable traces than accidental finds and the mentioned above treasures of Roman coins. They lacked the traces of constructions, fortifications, finally a big cemetery which was supposed to remain for one and a half–two hundred years of the existence of the big capital city. However, they haven’t been found either on the territory of the central part of the city or in its outskirts yet. Recently a new version connected with the search of Danprastadir has appeared. The thing is that in those distant times there still lived an old city which some of its contemporaries called “the city of Borysthenites”. We are speaking about glorious Olbia which was founded by Hellens as far back as near the middle of the 1st century BC. For quite a long time it was thought that in the 3rd century, in the times of “the Scythian wars” (i.e. of the Gothic

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invasion) the last Olbiopolitai left the city for ever after the Roman garrison left it to the mercy of fate. However, during long excavations they found quite a lot of things which could be dated to the 3rd and the 4th century: ceramics, coins and even treasures. It gave grounds to say that the city continued living as far back as in the times of the glorious king Hermaarich. The city occupied the territory of half a square kilometer, amounted to hundreds of constructions built of stone and covered with tiles. Even fortifications, high towers, gates and stone walls were in a rather good condition then. Doesn’t it look like a capital? There was nothing similar within the boundaries of the Gothic kingdom at that time if we don’t take into account the cities of the Bosporan Kingdom.There was a dark forest on the left bank of the estuary and as for graves-mounds, there were always lots of them in those lands. Goths might not care about the fact that this city wasn’t on the Dnieper. There was “the city of Borysthenites”, then it became Danprastadir and that’s it.

How old is Kyiv? Since all the history of the foundation of Kyiv is in the so-called undated part of the chronicle, it is really rather difficult to determine the time of this event. A few ways of solving this question were suggested. We have already mentioned the celebration of the 1500 anniversary which took place as far back as in the 1982. Since then wishes (and demands) have been expressed to reconsider the date of the foundation, to add some amount of years, purporting that 15 centuries is

Section 8. Knyaz Kyi and his city

The reconstruction of the Golden Gate in Kyiv which was carried out on the occasion of the 1500-year anniversary of the city that was celebrated in 1982

a too small age for such a respected and glorious city. The claims that 1500 years is excessive and 1200–1300 years is enough, that this would look more decent and realistic, were less loud. Since at that time there were no big temples or decent palace of the ruler of Rus yet, to say nothing about craftsmen’s production and other necessary attributes of a decent medieval city. Particularly, it will be interesting to remember how experts managed to calculate those celebrated 1500 years1. For what reasons they did it is another matter. A coin of the emperor Justinianus I (527–565). Some researchers think that it was him who received knyaz Kyi in Constantinople

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A record from the chronicle about the meeting of Kyi with the Byzantine emperor played an important role in the determination of the date. Its probability didn’t arouse any doubt among researchers, although for some reason there is no mention of such a significant event in Byzantine sources. However, they found an explanation to this – a secret policy, confidential negotiations – in other words, the Byzantine time. Academician B.O. Rybakov can be considered the author of the method of dating; at that time he was the most authoritative expert in the field of archeology and the history of Rus. He paid attention to the fact that the record about Kyi in the undated part of the chronicle is inserted before the records about the war between Antes and Avars. These events can be dated

You can find more details about the calculation of the 1500 year age of Kyiv in: П. П. Толочко Древний Киев. — К., 1976. —

С. 8—23 (P. P. Tolochko Ancient Kyiv).

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus thanks to Byzantine sources, to be more exact, to the end of the 6th century. So, it turns out that Kyiv was founded not later than in 600. This is how the city received the first 1400 years. This data is not round, but it is already rather respectful. Then the academician expressed an opinion that knyaz Kyi could have some business in the Byzantine Empire not earlier than the time of the ruling of Justinianus I (527-565 AD). This statesman is famous for his fight for restoring the might of the Empire. It is known that in 545 AD his ambassadors made Slavic chiefs an offer: to settle down in the place of the abandoned fortress Turris on the Danube and protect the border. B.O. Rybakov thought that it was then that the meeting of knyaz Kyi and the Byzantine emperor who received with honours “the Polan knyaz Kyi” could take place. An attentive reader will ask what Polans have to do with it? Since only Antes are mentioned in the Byzantine chronicles. But the chronicler Nestor said that Polans descended from Kyi? He really said it that’s why Kyi was a Polan knyaz and Byzantines might not know that… True, Procopius of Caesarea informs about the visit of the Slavic chief to Justinianus I during the third year of his ruling and it is approximately 529-530 and not 545 AD. Archeological findings were also taken into consideration. The find on the territory of the city of a few coins of the times of the emperor Anastasius I (498–519 AD) and Justinianus I could be considered as visual confirmation of contacts between Kyiv and Constantinople at the end of the 5th and at the beginning of the 6th century. For some of the researchers such finds became grounds for conclusions concerning “the establishment of trade relations of the Polan principality with the Byzantine empire”. In other words, an economic boom and beneficial circumstances for starting the building of the city. The finds of ceramics and even the traces of buildings in the historic part of the city can also be added to the coins. However, only the probable visit of Kyi to the emperor could be dated to the first half or the 30s of the 6th century, but not the foundation of the city. Since the campaigns of Slavs to the Danube started as far back as in the times of Anastasius, it was A coin of the emperor Anastasius I. Some researchers think that the foundation of the city was supposed to take place in the times of his ruling

necessary to transfer the beginning A bronze lamp, the 4th of the activity of “the Polan century from the knyaz” already to the 5th territory of Kyiv century. That’s why we have almost 1500 years. It only remains to determine if not the exact year, then at least the exact decade. Researchers counted that it would take the knyaz about 10–15 years to become firmly established on the throne. If we deduct this period of self-assertion from the time of the ruling of Anastasius, then we get the date of about 480 AD. This is how they managed to come to the cherished date 482 AD and determine that “the life of the city of Kyiv started about 1500 years ago”. Of course, this dated was suggested with numerous additional considerations. First of all, regarding the fact that the birth of a city is actually a rather long process. This is not a day and even not a year. For instance, a city can be founded in the place of an ancient sanctuary and only later it can acquire all the necessary attributes of the political, economic, military center of the surrounding lands. It was also said that the calls to “age” the time of the foundation of the city to the times of the Kyrylivska Palaeolithic site look like the substitution of the question about the date of the real appearance of the settlement for the date of the appearance of people in this locality. After all, everything looks like the search of “documentary evidence” of ancient legends in the form of the remains of constructions, treasures and burial places. Thus, the found antiquities can be considered as indisputable evidence of the foundation of the city 800, 900, 1000 and even 1100–1500 AD and more years ago. And the absence of the city infrastructure, even constructions which would correspond to such an officially approved date, doesn’t disturb anybody. Indeed, it was determined that in the central part of the city coins and fragments of ceramics are dated to the 5th, the 6th, the 8th or even the 9th century? It was determined. So, what other material evidence do you need?

Legends and anniversaries Of course, the idea of celebrating this anniversary didn't appear out of nowhere. Historians and archeologists (and not only them) paid attention to it quite a long time ago. It turned out that most often it is necessary to look for explanations in the field of politics. In ancient times any rights, claims for some status had to be supported not only

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A street in the ancient part of the city, the outlines of the foundation of the knyaz’s palace are marked with stones

by force, but also legally, with the help of documents. Probably for the first time such a need appeared in Rus in the 11th century, which coincides with the time of the appearance of the ancient chronicles that are known to us now. This was a difficult moment as the question which of the knyazes was the most superior was being solved. The dispute was directly connected with the age of the cities where numerous descendants of Rurik’s kin resided. Thus, the age of the foundation of Kyiv or Novgorod could appear not the last argument in the dispute for ruling Rus. Since there were no appropriate archives then, chronicles could become a weighty argument. It is thought that it was then that the respected Nestor the Chronicler was entrusted with determining the date of the foundation of Kyiv and collecting local stories which could confirm the age of the foundation of the capital city. It could happen approximately in 1093–1095 AD and it is thought that this investigation could be ordered by the Kyiv knyaz Sviatopolk Iziaslavich, whose ruling started in 1093 AD. This ruler had sufficient motivation for appropriate clarification of the history. As we can see, the task which was set by him was fulfilled and overfulfilled. Since there were different legends

about Kyi, he had to refute the story about his work connected with transportation over the Dnieper. Who did Nestor argue with? With chroniclers like him who lived in other cities, especially in the North, in Novgorod. Since in the first Novgorod chronicle and in the first Pskov chronicle the records about Kyi are dated to 854 AD and there is a list in which Kyi is mentioned in 852 AD. Using such simple methods, the North of Rus as far back as eight centuries ago competed for superiority with “the mother of all cities of Rus”. By the way, in historical works of later times you can see another date of the foundation of Kyiv – 430 AD. The older, the better. The next argument concerning the weight of the local knyaz is records about his personal contacts with the Byzantine emperor. Since in those times such a visit meant no less than a visit by a domestic politician to Moscow or Washington (with a reception on the corresponding level) now. And taking into account that this event occurred before the Avar-Slavic war, this added a few centuries of history which was older than the annalistic date of the appearance of the Ruriks at the helm of power in 862 AD to the Kyiv knyaz. Thus, the representative of the Ruriks who ruled in Kyiv, having such predecessors, received additional argu-

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A fragment of the model from the Archeology Museum of the Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine. The central part of Kyiv in the times of knyaz Volodymyr at the end of the 10th century could look like that. Already at that time the traces of the city of Kyi could as well disappear under the monumental buildings of the time of the flourishing of Rus

ments in favor of his superior position in the hierarchy of the ruling knyazes of Rus. It is another matter whether Kyiv itself benefited from that legend about its foundation. The opinions of scientists divided here. Some scientists think that this work turned out to be vain since 19 years after the death of Sviatopolk Iziaslavich knyazes on the Kyiv throne started replacing one another with an obscene speed, “like in a kaleidoscope”. On the other hand, a successful PR campaign raised the shares of the ancient capital to such an extent that knyazes fought for power till the Mongol invasion. Anniversaries and their celebration are a subtle and important matter. In the second half of the 20th century the USSR already managed to adapt the history which took place till 1917 in accordance with its beliefs. It is clear that Kievan Rus occupied a special place in it. And an equally important place in the history of Rus was occupied by Kyiv. In those times in Moscow they didn’t hurry to recognize Novgorod (which is also called Holmgard) and far less Stara Ladoga, remembering its ancient Scandinavian name Aldeigjuborg, as the origin of the Russian statehood. Although it is there, in the North, according to the records of the chronicle, the Ruriks started their ruling for the first time.

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Only in Kyiv at that moment they thought that the ancient center of the Slavic world was supposed to appear long before the appearance of Varangians. The great state had to have its own Slavic roots which, in any case, had to be older than that very year of 862 AD. That’s why the celebration of 1982 can be considered as a deeply symbolic date since the date of the foundation of the capital of the great state was shifted (having grounded it in a proper way) to the depth of ages by as many as 380 years. However, time passed, the political map of Europe changed, new researchers appeared. Both in Russia and Ukraine new chroniclers continued looking for the historical roots of their states. Some of them look for them in Novgorod, others in Stara Ladoga, still others, just like before, in Kyiv. Everybody has their own arguments and facts. And now after that anniversary which became history itself they write articles, publish books, constructing new versions regarding the circumstances and the time of the foundation of Kyiv and its place in the ancient history. It happened that during old excavations they never managed to find decent traces and the fragments of vessels, coins and other antiquities were actually found not in the appropriate place and not under the circumstances as it was thought before.

Section 9

In search of the city of Kyi

trange as it may seem, but before the beginning of the 20th century historians who studied the past of Kyiv limited themselves only to written sources. The most detailed descriptions of the local antiquities – temples, monasteries, the ruins of the Golden Gate didn’t concern something older than the times of Volodymyr alias Red Sun, to be more exact the date of the Christianization of Rus. Excavations were carried out, but most often they looked for Christian shrines and not for the traces of the ancient city. Thus, as far back as at the beginning of the 20th century nobody could show, for example, the location of the palace where the great knyaz drank honey and wine with epic heroes.

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The interesting thing is that ancient Russian chronicles contain quite a lot of descriptions of Kyiv of the time of the ruling of the knyaz. In most texts there is such a word as “mountain”. And the central part of the city is in fact called “Mountain” with the capital letter from time to time. Indeed, this city is situated in the area where there are quite a lot of elevations. On most of them they found traces of the stay of people the most ancient of which are dated to the time of the Trypillian culture. There are also traces of settlements which could be connected with the appearance of the city there. The

question is how exactly we can find the mountain on which the city of Kyi was built. As it often happens in such situations, there are a few contenders for this honorable place.

The traces of the city on Starokyivska Hora The fact that it is a mountain called Starokyivska doesn’t mean anything. Since this name didn’t appear in

The location of the ancient Kyiv mountains and cities in a satellite image: 1 — the official city of Kyi near the National Museum of the History of Ukraine; 2 — Zamkova Hora; 3 — the mountain which was liquidated at the beginning of the 17th century where the city of Kyi could also be located

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Reconstruction of the rampart of “the city of Kyi” which was carried out on the occasion of the celebration of the 1500-year anniversary from the day of the foundation of the city. In the background there is the building of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine

ancient times. True, here they found the traces of constrictions and fortifications which are quite old. And there is also the building of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine around which a memorial park was built on the eve of the 1500-year anniversary of Kyiv. Walking along paths laid with stone plates, you can make a real journey to the times of Rus and even knyaz Kyi. On the roadside you can see the ruins of knyazes’ palaces, the Church of the Tithes, quite a lot of commemorative tokens, plates with different inscriptions which inform what and when is built or was built in ancient times. There is even a stone with the inscription which informs that “it is from here that the lands of Rus start”. Behind all these diverse things there is work of archeologists who for more than one hundred years have been trying to find out what exactly happened in this historic place and when it happened. As far back as at the beginning of the 20th century this part of Starokyivska Hora was divided between a few owners who had rather big farmsteads here, even with orchards with apple trees and pear trees. The first excavations on one of the farmsteads which were carried out by the archeologist V.V. Khvoika in 1907 produced a great 1

impression on the public opinion and views about the past of Kyiv. Their results were even discussed in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. It is not surprising as in the ground they found the traces of ancient buildings, fortifications including foundations of palaces of the time of knyazes. Moreover, they found the traces of even more ancient constructions, ancient burial places. The most incredible find was the remains of a construction which was built, according to the description of V.V. Khvoika, of the local grey sandstone, using a clay mortar. When archeologists found this place in 1972, they determined that ancient masons also used granite, red quartzite and pyrophyllite shale (which is more known as “Ovruch slate”). In plan the construction had an elliptic form (with the dimensions of 4.2×3.5 m) and rectangular protuberances which were oriented towards the four directions of the world. In old pictures which were preserved in the archives of the researcher you can see the process of the excavations and V.V. Khvoika himself next to the sensational find1. The ground around the remains of this construction was covered with a layer of clay of a whitish color the surface of which was leveled properly. In the southern

The description of the find is published in the book: В. В. Хвойко Давні мешканці Середнього Придніпров’я та їх культура у доісторичні часи (по розкопкам)//Дослідження трипільської цивілізації у науковій спадщині археолога Вікентія Хвойки. — К., 2006. — Т. І. — С.181; коментарі на с. 186—187 (V.V. Khvoika Ancient residents of Middle Dnieper area and their culture in the prehistoric times (on the basis of excavations) // The research of the Trypillian civilization in the scientific legacy of the archeologist Vikentiy Khvoika).

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Excavations of V.V. Khvoika on Starokyivska Hora at the beginning of the 20th century

side they found a pit which was filled with layers of burnt clay and ashes with coals. Around this construction they found quite a lot of bones and skulls of animals, mostly domestic ones. It’s worth keeping in mind that the described above construction is situated not exactly in the place where it is restored now. And researchers still dispute whether this was an ancient chapel of oblation or something else. The found pit with the layers of ashes looks like the traces of ancient sacrifices. Such pits are supposed to be near ancient temples. The thought that V.V. Khvoika came across the remains of a pedestal which was built in the times of knyaz Volodymyr for putting up the trophy bronze quadriga that was brought to Kyiv after the successful campaign to the walls of Kherson doesn’t contradict the initial purpose of this place. Since the knyazchristianizer had to take care of the destruction of the temple of old gods. Walking along the path which leads to the entrance to the museum, you can see a small cube of polished granite. The inscription carved on it informs that we are passing by “the part of the rampart and the ditch of the city of Kyi. The end of the 5th – the beginning of the 4th century.” Indeed, not far from it you can see a rampart which is overgrown with grass and in front of the rampart there is a shallow ditch. The fortification stretched from the nearby lane to the slopes of the mountain in front of the Saint

The remains of an ancient construction built of stones which is considered to be a chapel of oblation. Excavations of V.V. Khvoika on Starokyivska Hora at the beginning of the 20th century

The cleaned remains of the chapel of oblation. Excavations of V.V. Khvoika

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The full-sized reconstruction of the chapel of oblation (on the basis of excavations of V.V. Khvoika) near the entrance to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine

Reconstruction of the chapel of oblation on the basis of the findings of excavations. The picture by V.V. Khvoika

Andrew's Church. Of course, these are not authentic fortifications, but part of the memorial complex which was built approximately in the place of ancient fortifications. Their traces were also found at the beginning of the 20th century and they were much bigger than the ones which can now be seen on the surface. The depth of the ditch at different sections amounted to from 4 to 6 m and the width in the upper part reached 10 m. At the bottom of the ditch

A commemorative token in honor of “the city of Kyi” which was put up in 1982

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researchers found the remains of constructions which were made of wood. Some of them thought that once the wood supported the walls of the ditch, others thought that these were the remains of enclosures which were supposed to be a barrier on the way of those who wanted to assault the ancient fortifications. It’s worth noting that these fortifications look much more modest than the ones which were built around Kyiv in the times of the flourishing of Rus in the 10th–the 11th century, but it was necessary to start with something… This ditch separated an edge of the cape with the area of about 2 hectares. The construction which was excavated by V.V. Khvoika was situated closer to the edge of the mountain, within the boundaries of the fortifications. But what finds made it possible to determine the date which is carved on the granite? The same excavations showed: once this ditch was filled up with ground. In order to do it they used part of the rampart. However, this ground was not sufficient and they had to take off the upper layer of the ground from the surrounding territory. Litter which was gathered around also got to the ditch together with this ground. This litter included quite a lot of fragments of vessels, part of them was from molded vessels, but there were also fragments of vessels which were made on a potter’s wheel. At first these finds were dated to the 8th – the 10th century, then part of them was dated to the 7th – the 8th century, i.e. to the time between 600 and 800 AD. Some of the molded pots could be really used approximately in 600 AD. But this is the seventh century and in no way the sixth or the fifth century as it is indicated on the granite. Besides the ditch on this territory more than one hundred burial places have been excavated and most of them are dated to the 10th century; some of them were situated close to the ancient ditch and there were even burial mounds over them. It means that in the 10th century the fortifications finally lost their military meaning. Otherwise who would allow burying dead men next to the city fortifications and especially building mounds next to the walls? And perhaps this

Section 9. In search of the city of Kyi

The section of the ditch of “the city of Kyi” on the basis of archeological excavations of the beginning of the 20th century

was not an ordinary city? Since there could be an ancient sanctuary on the cape. Let’s remember the masonry which was found by V. V. Kvoika and the finds around it. The fact that they never found the traces of dense site development within the boundaries of the fortifications, probably, is not accidental either. But burial places are quite appropriate in this case: where should you bury dead men if not on the sacred ground? After all, why couldn’t the relatives of knyaz Kyi build a sacred city in his honor, a sanctuary which was common for all the clans? To put up a huge chapel of

oblation of stones which were brought from the homeland of the representatives of these clans or tribes (everybody had their own stones – sandstone, granite, pyrophyllite2), having mortared them with the help of the local clay. Such an event would look very solemn and symbolic. Everything may happen and it may happen that the views about the sanctity of Kyiv mountains reach greater depth of history than we can usually imagine. Since the traces of the stay of Trypillians which were found not far from there, in the area of the modern Lviv square, are also very similar to sanctuaries and ancient sacrifices.

The view on the location of “the city of Kyi” in a satellite image. You can see the reconstructed chapel of oblation, the rampart and the ditch in front of the building of the museum

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True, it was suggested that such a set of stones could appear only in the times of Rus. Since Drevlians on whose territory there were deposits of pyrophyllite recognized the superiority of Kyiv only in the 10th century and it happened not without their resistance.

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The reconstructed rampart of “the city of Kyi”

It is another matter when this sanctuary was built on Starokyivska Hora. We have already mentioned the fragments of molded pots which are not older than the year 600 according to archeologists. Although now it is not difficult to order isotopic dates, having used the same skulls from old excavations as samples. Maybe this way we will be able to receive the cherished date of 1500 years and maybe not. But we can give it a try if only we had desire and a little money.

The mountain with many names In the city there is one more mountain on which a certain part of researchers is disposed to place the city of Kyi. It towers above the ancient trade and craftsman suburb of the city, Podil and is situated opposite the described above Starokyivska Hora. It is small, but its slopes are rather steep. Now you can go up the mountain along paths or by stairs which start in Andriyivskyi Descent. It’s worth noting that this place is more suited for building impregnable fortifications than the previous one. This mountain has a few names. Five or six hundred years ago the residents of Kyiv started calling it Zamkova Hora. In those times there were wooden towers and walls there. The troops of Tatar khans tried to capture this castle more than once, but they never succeeded. In the middle of the 17th century the mountain acquired a new name,

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Kyselivka, after the name of the commander of that time, Adam Kysel. As far back as at the beginning of the 19th century this mountain was called Florivska, after the name of the convent which is situated below, at the side of Podil. At that time a cemetery was being built on the mountain. Excavations on the mountain began as far back as at the end of the 19th century. During previous centuries and the teeming activity of many generations of the residents of Kyiv the mountain was dug all over and more than once. However, archeologists managed to find the traces of a settlement of the times of the Zarubyntsi culture which is dated to the beginning of the Common Era. This is too early for the city of Kyi, but this find is evidence of the interest in this area of the bearers of a Slavic (Proto-Slavic) archeological culture. And molded early Slavic ceramics which were found in this place aroused a discussion regarding the fact whether they were made between 500–600 or between 600–700 AD. It seems that the latter date corresponds to the modern views about the time of the use of such vessels better. However, these fragments were found in the redeposited layers. The remains of the settlement from which they originate were probably brought during the construction and further modernization of the castle. True, they managed to find the traces of constructions of the 9th–the 10th century and even a treasure of Byzantine coins of that time. However, how this mountain was called by the residents of Kyiv at that time is not known. There are assumptions that it was called Khorevytsya or Shchekavytsya.

Section 9. In search of the city of Kyi

The view on Zamkova Hora (Kyselivka). Some researchers think that at first “the city of Kyi” was situated on it

Thus, the city in this place could also theoretically belong to one of the brothers of the glorious Kyi. However, in any case, you can see that people used both this mountain and the nearby one, Starokyivska Hora, between 600–800 AD. However, now you can see more than two mountains in this area. And it appears that there were even more of them before and even those mountains which have survived to this day didn’t preserve their initial look.

The mountain which disappeared The ground relief and the network of streets of the city which became ordinary for a few generations of the residents of Kyiv, to be more exact in the area between the Golden Gate and Starokyivska Hora and its outskirts, started acquiring such a look only in the 19th century. The slopes around the St. Michael's Monastery, along Volodymyrska Street were cut by ravines which are now buried under constructions. Almost every promontory which was formed by such ravines was sufficient so that a small city was located on it. However, more than three hundred years ago part of this mountain towered over the nearby ones, Starokyivska Hora and Zamkova Hora3. The vicinity of the latter one, to be more exact of the fortress which was built on its top, 3

decided the fate of the ancient mountain. Since it was sufficient to bring cannons to its top and you can keep under fire almost the whole territory of the Kyiv castle. As far back as in the 16th century servicemen started solving this question, but only after the arrival of the commander Stanislaw Zolkiewski in Kyiv the matter got off the ground. Already in 1616 the mountain was demolished by as many as 11 meters and the territory of the military facility was protected from the hostile fire from this side. True, it didn’t save the Kyiv castle from Cossacks in 1648. When performing earth works, nobody cared that they were destroying all the traces of the stay of people on this mountain. Even nowadays there is enough trouble connected with protective archaeological excavations and in 1616 there was nobody who could take care of them. True, it’s worth giving them proper respect: at least one find which diggers came across in this place in 1616 was indicated in the chronicle of the Mezhyhirya Monastery. We are speaking about a cave which was probably dug by a hermit in the thickness of this hill. Scientists knew that there was an ancient settlement in this place only in the second half of the 20th century when they were carrying out excavations on the slopes of Uzdykhalnytsia. There they found the remains of two stoves and fragments of vessels which are dated to the

The hypothesis concerning the location of the city of Kyi on the disappeared mountain is given in the book: С. И. Климовский Замковая гора в Киеве: пять тысяч лет истории. — К., 2005. — С. 37—41; 45—48 (S. I. Klimovskiy Zamkova Hora in Kyiv: five thousand years of history).

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The photograph with a view over Andriyivskyi Descent, the beginning of the 20th century. In the background there is Zamkova Hora (also called Kyselivka or Florivska Hora). In the foreground there is the mountain Uzdykhalnytsia and the location of the mountain which was demolished in 1616 under the order of the commander Stanislaw Zolkiewski

8th–the 10th century. It meant: people could live on this mountain at least from 700. Taking into account the fact that the height of the demolished mountain amounted to a few hundreds of meters, there was enough space there not only for a cemetery, but also for the whole city. The probability of the location of the city of Kyi here can be confirmed by the searches of the place where Borychiv Tik, an ancient route from the upper city to Podil, could lie. According to chronicles, it was supposed to lie along the slopes of this mountain. It is not very difficult to determine the direction. Since in accordance with the rules of the construction of fortifications, those who went up to the gate of a castle or a city were supposed to have their right side which was not protected by the shield, facing the walls and towers. Besides, the ancient temple which was mentioned in “The Tale of Igor's Campaign”4 was inseparably connected with Borychiv Tik. This construction was built and it towers in the same place where it was put up many centuries ago. If you make a path from it to that place where the ancient “disappeared” mountain started and it started near the mountain lift, then moving along it, you will open your right side. It is thought that part of Borychiv Tik was blocked at the beginning of the 20th century by the rods of the mountain lift which occupied the place of the ancient ravine. A mention about this

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place was found in the descriptions of the Kyiv fortress of the 17th century. It is mentioned there that a wicket was made in the fortress ramparts which leads to “the ditch Borychiv” and from that ditch the ascent leads to the temple of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Podil. Thus, the location of the city of Kyi on this mountain may not be proved completely, but it looks quite probable. It’s a pity that the intact part of the mountain is built up with constructions which could destroy the traces of the ancient city to the same great extent (for instance the massive grey building where the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is situated now) as the spades of diggers which were brought by the commander to perform engineering works in distant 1616.

Two cities of knyaz Kyi? It happens that using the same annalistic record, the same citation, researchers sometimes manage to make opposite conclusions. In this respect the history of Kyiv is no exception. For instance, there is an assumption that in reality the city of Kyi was not alone, there were as many as two of them. And it is supported by references to the appropriate places in the chronicle. Indeed, it is written

Igor Svyatoslavich upon his arrival in Kyiv after his escape from the Cuman captivity headed for this temple along Borychiv Tik.

Section 9. In search of the city of Kyi

1 — Zamkova Hora in a satellite image; 2 — the mountain Uzdykhalnytsia ; 3 — the Church of the Theotokos of Pyrogoshcha

there that Kyi lived upon the hill where the Borychiv trail now is? It is really written there and it is quite possible that he didn’t just live on the bare ground, but had a farmstead there and probably a fortified one, i.e. a city, as the older brother is supposed to have. However, what happens next, what does the chronicle inform us further? And then it says that his relatives (their list is added) built a city in honor of the oldest brother. Here is another city, this time named after Kyi. Since the name of the place where the glorious knyaz lived is not mentioned in chronicles, they only say that he lived upon the hill. So, it turns out that Kyi had not one, but two cities: his own one and the one which was built in his honor and named after him. Besides, his relatives, brothers, had their own cities, both Schek and Khoryv. So, it turns out that by combined efforts this glorious family managed to build as many as four cities somewhere here, on the mountains and in addition they also built a settlement for their sister. Perhaps the ancient settlement-sanctuary which was found on Starokyivska Hora was that personalized city. Its fortifications were symbolic rather than real, especially taking into account steep slopes of nearby mountains. And the presence of a sanctuary could be an important factor for choosing the city as the capital of a certain tribe or even a tribal union, chiefdom.

By the way, Kyiv is far from being the only ancient city in the lands of Eastern Slavs which consisted of a few fortified parts. For example, ancient Iskorosten, the capital of the Drevlian land, consisted, as excavations showed, of at least three “cities”. They were of different sizes and had fortifications of different strength, but all of them occupied elevations over the river. And the components of ancient Iskorosten were not inferior to the ancient cities of Kyiv in terms of sizes. Summing up, it’s worth noting that the time of the foundation of all the contenders for the city of Kyi can’t be shifted farther than the year 600 AD yet. There is not enough archeological data for that now. Indeed, it remains only to use the isotopic dating of the molded vessels which have already been gathered. And probably new additional excavations would be a good idea too. Strange as it may seem, but there are still enough places where they can be carried out. The plateau of Zamkova Hora, the slopes of Uzdykhalnytsia and some other places are not studied properly yet. And it’s worth hurrying as developers don’t waste their time because these old Kyiv mountains are a too tasty morsel for them. One more question arises. Why did Kyiv become such an important center for Eastern Slavs? A certain answer can be obtained if you have a closer look at the geographical map. Since it is here, in Middle Dnieper area, that

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The view on Starokyivska Hora

the boundaries of a few archeological cultures which represent the world of ancient Slavs meet. The one who built cities in the center of such a border zone could as well aspire to turn them in the future into the capital of a powerful chiefdom and later into a state as well. Let’s also add the location on the intersection of routes from the North to the South and from the West to the East and this is a beneficial position for transit trade, the earning of profit for the treasure of the Kyiv knyaz. So, it’s quite possible to explain the further transformation of the clannish nest of the residents of Kyiv into the capital of Rus.

What was found? The legend about the foundation of the city of Kyi which is given in the chronicle is short, informative and rather clear. The fact of the existence of the city and its age don’t arouse substantial doubt. They are confirmed by 5

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the results of archeological excavations. Thanks to excavations they managed to reveal such details which had been missed by Nestor the Chronicler and his colleagues. For instance, it turned out that there was an ancient, preChristian sanctuary5 on Starokyivska Hora. Multi-year researches showed in a convincing way: yes, indeed, settlements of ancient Slavs including fortified ones existed on the territory of Kyiv long before the establishment of the Rurik Dynasty in the second half of the 9th century. Between 600/700 and 800 AD people lived here and some of the settlements had all the rights to bear a proud name of the founders of cities. And it is too difficult to verify the annalistic records concerning the fact that Kyi-the founder lived here in the times of the Slavic confrontation with the Byzantine Empire in the 6th–the 7th century, although the fact of the confrontation doesn’t arouse substantial doubt. Just like the fact that part of Slavs returned to the Dnieper after the campaign to (and behind) the Danube

It is quite logical to assume that the monk didn’t have substantial grounds to publicize pagan sacred places in Kyiv. It’s worth noting that there were quite a lot of such places which were sacred for ancient Slavs on the territory of our Land. You can find more details in the section “Sacred mountains” (in the book Відейко М. Ю. Україна: Від Русі до Святої Русі.— К.: Кріон, 2010. — 256 с. (Videiko M. Yu. Ukraine: From Rus to Sacred Rus).

Section 9. In search of the city of Kyi

The model of ancient Kyiv from the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. The numbers indicate the following: 1 — the location of the “official” city of Kyi (the modern building of the museum); 2 — the probable location of the city of Kyi on the mountain which was liquidated in the 17th century; 3 — Zamkova Hora, another probable location of the city of Kyi

between 600 AD and 700 AD. This fact is proved with the help of finds which archeologists came across during excavations6. Warriors, grain growers, craftsmen and also knyazes and commanders came back. And when they were coming back, they founded new settlements and cities. Of course, all those cities had their own “fathersfounders”. Settlements could group around a fortified sanctuary (like the ancient settlement on Starokyivska Hora), which was quite usual in those times, since nothing unites as much as common faith and common sacred places. However, not many names, especially the names of knyazes, have been preserved in annals and chronicles. The fact that we don’t find the names of Kyi and his relatives in the Byzantine chronicles can be explained quite easily: Romei were not very interested in knyazes of such a rank. 6

The finds of molded vessels from Starokyivska Hora, excavations of the 1960s of the 20th century

You can find more details about it in the section “The city of craftsmen on the border with the steppe”.

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Excavations of V.V. Khvoika on Starokyivska Hora, the beginning of the 20th century — remains of fortifications from the 10th—the 17th centuries

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Just like before, most “barbarians” were all alike in appearance for the Empire. These barbarians didn’t know what really strong power and order are, were bellicose and cruel, were eager to get somebody else’s gold and silver. So, we will have to limit ourselves to what Nestor the Chronicler told us. It is another matter how considerable the most ancient cities on Kyiv mountains were, whether they were economic, political, administrative centers, to what outskirts their influence was spread. In order to receive answers, it is not enough to carefully read chronicles and carry out selective excavations in the historic center of the city any more. We need new, systematic searches and excavations of the outskirts or the reconstruction of the system of Slavic settlements in the region on the whole, the determination of the time of their appearance, the economic potential, connections and other things which are necessary for more or less reliable and most importantly grounded historical reconstructions. Summing up, it’s worth noting that the results of the archeological study of Kyiv which has been conducted for more than one hundred years are quite successful. The fact that the received data were not always used correctly is another question. The most important thing is that our views and knowledge about “how?”, “when?” and “why?” the ancient city over the Dnieper appeared will change together with new researches.

Section 10

The city of craftsmen on the border with the steppe n those turbulent times ordinary people, as always, strived to live better: to be comfortably off, to have peace, comfort, to take care of the future of their children and grandchildren wherever possible. Some of them dreamt of building a city and ruling it as a knyaz. Others dreamt of their own arable land which will yield a rich harvest and a cozy and warm dwelling. In order to fulfill this dream sometimes they hived off and moved hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away. Thus Slavs from Dnieper area once went to seek their fortune to the distant Danube. But not all managed to find this fortune even there, in warm and wealthy lands. And then there were people who decided to come back to their native Land and to try to build their happy life there again, having used treasures, knowledge and skills which were acquired in foreign lands. And they managed to do so and would live a long and happy life if a war didn’t break out…

I

They came back from the Danube They managed to find out about of one such ancient stories solely thanks to archeological researches in the ancient settlement Pastyrske which is situated in the lands of the modern Cherkasy region. The outcome of these excavations which were started as far back as at the beginning of the 20th century and most importantly the comprehension of their results has been published in recent years1. In the 20th century you could see a small hamlet with the sonorous name Svynolupivka in this place. This name was hardly inherited by the local residents from Scythians who put up their fortress here two and a half thousand years ago or from those who settled down here in the 7th–the 8th century. As far back as in the 19th century this area was covered with a rather thick forest. And when it was eventually cut down, preparing the area for

fields, the ramparts of the ancient settlement became noticeable again. And later in these plowed fields they started finding not only plenty of fragments of broken vessels, pieces of burnt clay, rusty iron, but also more interesting things such as jewelry which was made of silver. Sometimes they found even treasures in the place of the old forest.

The ancient settlement Pastyrske and its neighbors, the first half of the 8th century 1

You can find more details about the research of the ancient settlement Pastyrske and the finds which were revealed there in the well-illustrated book: О. М. Приходнюк Пастирське городище. — Київ—Чернівці, 2005. — 244 с. (O.M. Prykhodnyuk The ancient settlement Pastyrske).

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A broken vessel which was found in one of the dwellings in the ancient settlement Pastyrske The plan of the ancient settlement Pastyrske and excavations on its territory which was drawn up by V.V. Khvoika

Excavations of the remains of dwellings of “the city of craftsmen” Pastyrske

A stone stove in a dwelling in the ancient settlement Pastyrske after its cleaning by archeologists

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The ramparts of the ancient settlement preserved the height in some places of up to three odd meters; ditches the depth of which even now amounts to from two to four meters are also noticeable. The fortification consisted of two parts which were divided by a small river. So, the ancient residents of this place took care not only of the safety, but also of the sufficient amount of water for the needs of the settlement. Excavations showed that the first ancient settlement which was built as far back as in the Scythian time had been abandoned for long, become overgrown with grass and in some places even with a forest when new people came and built their own fortifications on the ancient ramparts. These were walls of wood with the height of about 1.5–2 m, probably even with a parapet and embrasures. However, these fortifications were also burnt and destroyed one day. And then everything became overgrown with a forest and had been like that for more than one thousand years. Inside archeologists came across the traces of dwellings which were built by the residents of this unhappy settlement. According to modern standards these constructions were rather modest, 4×5 m on the average. The lower part of dwellings was deepened in the ground and walls of a framework structure were made of wood coated with clay. It is quite ecological and the heat insulation was very good. Rooms were heated by stoves which were made of stone. Such a construction doesn’t look very impressive, but it was enough that it accumulated heat well and that’s why it emitted heat for long. The same dwellings were built by Slavic tribes all over Europe, from the Danube to the Baltic Sea. Among the remains of dwellings they found quite a lot of vessels – fragments of pots among which there were pots

Section 10. The city of craftsmen on the border with the steppe

that were made on a potter’s wheel, millstones, craftsmen’s instruments and even some weapons. Such a picture is not typical for the research of an early Slavic settlement. It evidences that the dwellings were not merely abandoned as it happened when moving to a new place. A practical man will never leave in his dwelling so many valuable things which can be used in housekeeping. Next to dwellings there were outbuildings and even craftsmen’s workshops. The supplies of food – grain, vegetables were stored by the residents of the ancient settlement with the help of an old and tested method – in deep pits near dwellings. In general, according to the estimates of archeologists, there was enough space for the residence of a few hundreds of people, i.e. a rather small community. The finds evidenced convincingly: the local residents mastered the advanced (to be more exact, the forgotten from the times of the Chernyakhiv culture) technologies for this land, for instance, they made vessels on a potter's wheel. And both the form and the technology of making vessels is similar to the traditions which were spread in Danube area the sources of which should be looked for in the provincial culture of the time of the Roman ruling. The residents of the ancient settlement Pastyrske turned out to be innovators even in grain growing as they grew hulless A specimen of a pot which was made on a potter’s wheel, one of many pots which were found during excavations in the ancient settlement Pastyrske

Millstones were found in one of the dwellings

soft wheat, lentil – the cultures which had never been seen in these lands before, but were typical for regions that were further to the South, i.e. were typical for Roman provinces. At the same time they continued to grow traditional cultures – millet, rye, emmer and hulless barley. A considerable number of jewelry which was found in the ancient settlement evidences: the level of wealth of its residents was rather high. It turned out that part of the products were made on the spot. And again the types of products and the technologies which were used to make them pointed to the South, to the Danube. Now in museum collections there are more than 200 products which were found in the ancient settlement Pastyrske at different times: these are fibulas, pendants, bracelets. The soFibulas which were made by local jewelers

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus An amphora which was once filled with wine. It was found among the remains of a building in the ancient settlement Pastyrske. The 8th century A fibula from the ancient settlement Pastyrske, silver. The 8th century

called finger-shaped fibulas are the most famous. In Western Europe scientists consider them to be products of “the Gothic style”, in the East they are considered to be typically Slavic; they were particularly popular in the 6th–the 7th century. If we take into account that the prototypes of these products of the so-called “Aquilea type” appeared again on the Danube as far back as in the 5th century, then it is there that the representatives of barbarian Europe from Goths to Slavs could get acquainted with them. It’s worth noting that skilled craftsmen-jewelers from the ancient settlement Pastyrske made their own modification of these fibulas; and the height of some of them was increased to as much as 20 cm. Besides, they made fasteners with anthropomorphous shields here. They also found the traces of the local iron working. Smiths supplied the ancient settlement with all the necessary instruments and weapons. In one of the workshops they found a complete set of forging tools which had been hidden by its owner. This is one more treasure, this time not silver or gold, but iron, for which nobody ever came back either. Researchers made a conclusion that they came across a typical “city of craftsmen” three An iron knife which was made by the local smith. Pastyrske, the 8th century

The treasure of forging tools which archeologists came across during excavations in the ancient settlement Pastyrske

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or five hundred residents of which lived not only at the expense of grain growing, animal husbandry, but also at the expense of selling high-technology (for that time) products – from vessels to products made by a smith or a jeweler. Everything was estimated correctly: their neighbors who didn’t know how to use a potter’s wheel and were not familiar with fashionable jewelry technologies couldn’t be competitors for them. Who were they, where did these skilled, enterprising and civilized people come from to the Scythian ancient settlement which had been abandoned for long? The ancient settlement Pastyrske is situated on the border with the steppe. These lands were not properly inhabited by Slavs in the 7th century. They lived a little further to the North where well-known monuments of the Penkivka culture were found. However, the culture of the residents of the ancient settlement resembles the Penkivka one as regards certain traits (for example, dwellings with stone stoves), but is quite enriched with the traditions of Danube area – from the set of cereals and the production of vessels on a potter’s wheel to dainty pieces of jewelry. It looks like that the new residents of the ancient settlement managed to live in the South, learn to do something there, but later decided to come back to their homeland. However, they had to settle down in these unquiet, as it turned out later, places. Either they were not allowed to go further to the North by those who hadn’t gone to the Danube and stayed in their native lands, or the communiSilver fibulas which were found in a treasure during the excavations of 1992. The ancient settlement Pastyrske

Section 10. The city of craftsmen on the border with the steppe

Fragments of vessels which were found during excavations in the ancient settlement Pastyrske

ty decided to settle down closer to trade routes, sales market which steppe nomads’ camps and the not so distant CrimeaTaurica were. Thus the ancient settlement Pastyrske became their new home. They rebuilt, as much as they could, fortifications, built dwellings, workshops, plowed the fields in the outskirts, probably built a few more settlements in the suburbs. Then they adjusted the production of things which were necessary in housekeeping – pots, knives, axes, nails and so on. Their handicraft products sold well among their near and distant neighbors. Some pieces of jewelry reached even Taurica! In exchange they could receive not only coins (the most

part of which was later melted for making adornments), but also some other “import” – for example, wine in amphorae. Quite a lot of such vessels, both intact and broken, were found during excavations. The residents of the ancient settlement were not alone in the endless steppe. Archeologists managed to find the traces of a few more similar unfortified settlements. Perhaps Pastyrske was a capital city of a small tribe who risked settling down in the lands which were unoccupied at that time. The ancient settlement was rather far from summer nomads’ camps, but not so far so that it was disadvantageous to sell handicraft products there, starting with jugs and knives and finishing with silver adornments. If you look at the map, you can see that it is not very far from here to those places where rather significant complexes which are connected with nomads were found – for instance, the Voznesenka “treasure” or the potter’s center in the gully of Kancirka. However, all this flourishing life lasted only for a few decades. The things which were found in the settlement allow dating its occupation to from the end of the 7th to the first half of the 8th century. The last decades of the 7th century in the history of Danube area were far from being a peaceful time. Since it is here that nomads-Bulgars headed by khan Asparuh went from the steppes of the Land, having disagreed to recognize the superiority of the Khazar khagan. It happened in 680. Now it was Reconstruction of dwellings of ancient Slavs. The Archeological Museum of the Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus where he took quite a lot of prisoners and captured plunder, having devastated everything all around. The names of scientific works are rather interesting2 and these works also contain various records concerning the deeds of the great conqueror. One of the historians writes that 20,000 buildings of the infidel were destroyed, another historian writes that 20,000 people were taken prisoner, still other historian writes that 20,000 families were captured. Thus the number of the victims of the victorious campaign could amount to from 20,000 to 100,000 people. Besides, in the descriptions there is no agreement concerning the fact against whom In this place there were dwellings which were a little deepened in the Marwan ibn Muhammad went on a military ground; the traces of the foundation and pits for posts and also a broken stove have been preserved campaign. Some historians write that these were “Sakaliba and other neighboring tribes”, others write that he went on a campaign “against Slavs who time for Slavs who had already managed to settle down in lived in the land of Khazars», still others write that this was these lands to make their choice. Some of them submitted just a campaign “against the infidel”. In 738 the victor of to the conquerors and the rest went to their homeland – to Khazars withdrew his troops from the steppes. A few years the Dnieper, to the Vistula or to Moravia. By the way, in all passed and he became a caliph in Baghdad and went down of the mentioned above places later they found a set of in history as Abu Abd al-Malik Marwan II and ruled from things which was similar to the one which was found dur744 to 750 AD. ing the research of the ancient settlement Pastyrske. If we consider the Dnieper to be the Slavic river However, the destiny of those who came back from the (why not?), then it is quite possible that it is the troops of Danube appeared to be different. the future caliph that destroyed the town in Pastyrske and As it turned out, the life in this part of the Land took its residents prisoner. True, most researchers considwhere the city of craftsmen appeared sometimes depender the Don which in those times was still called Tana or ed on the results of the events which took place far, even Tanais to be this “Slavic river”. very far from the small river with a beautiful name Lyana. However, archeologists haven’t managed to find not only 20,000 but even 200 Slavic buildings Who destroyed the city? which could be dated to the first half of the 8th century yet. There are different versions concerning the fact how, when and under what circumstances the city in Pastyrske And in general there is such a died. In fact, a relatively peaceful life on the bank of a small version that in 737 AD the faithriver was possible first of all because more powerful neighful didn’t go farther than Ciscaucasia bors didn’t care about this or the surrounding places. Since and took prisoners somewhere there, it is then that far away, behind the steppes and mountains, having confused the local residents there was a fierce war between the Byzantine Empire, the with Sakaliba-Slavs. This version is state of Khazars and the Arab caliphate. Both the parties interesting, but is hardly probable as were successful, but then more and more often the comArab commanders had business with manders of the caliphate started winning. Sakaliba at that time and could distinOne of them called Marwan ibn Muhammad manguish them from their other enemies3. aged to defeat the Khazar troops. Arab historians inform that he reached the banks of the Volga and the Slavic river A fibula from the ancient settlement Pastyrske, the 8th century 2

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Here is a list of these books and the probable years of their writing: Al-Tabari “The world history” (approximately 914-915), Al-Balazuri “The book of conquests” (the 60s of the 9th century), Abu al-Kufi again “The book of conquests” (before 926). The circumstances of the campaign and thoughts concerning its purpose are discussed in detail in the book: А. А. Тортика. СевероЗападная Хазария в контексте истории Восточной Европы. — Харьков, 2006. — С. 262—293 (A. A. Tortyka. NorthernWestern Khazaria in the context of the history of Eastern Europe). One of such stories is discussed in the section: “From Ukranenland to Hisn as Sakaliba”.

Section 10. The city of craftsmen on the border with the steppe

The ancient settlement Pastyrske, the excavations of 1992: this is what the treasure of silver adornments looked like after cleaning

However, Pastyrske could be destroyed not by the warriors of Marwan ibn Muhammad. Since his enemies, Khazars, were not friends of the local population in those times either. After defeats from the caliphate the Khazar khaganate paid attention to the outskirts of its state to the North of the Caucasus, to say nothing about collecting tribute and capturing people: they needed money to continue the war. It is then that some of the unknown Khazar commanders could put the eye on a small town and its outskirts. There were a few hundreds of men, women, children who could be captured and sold into servitude for glittering silver. And the local population also had some silver; neighbors-nomads knew about it for sure. Among the remains of the burnt town archeologists found not numerous fragments of adornments from the military equipage. Such things were typical for Magyars who in those times were still subjects of the khaganate. Although the residents of the ancient settlement could also get such things as trophies. Points of arrows which were found among the ruins also point to nomads. Thanks to excavations researchers managed to restore the history of the last days of the existence of the city of craftsmen. The assault was made in spring as the harvest which had already been reaped was burnt in abatises; their carbonized remains have been preserved for centuries. This is probably the most suitable time for the assault as there are quite a lot of things which you can capture in grain growing settlements. At first a small group of horsemen shot incendiary arrows at the town.

After this men went behind the walls in order to fight back the enemy. The attackers pretended as if they were running away, a pursuit started. But this was a trap – the main troops were waiting in an ambush. None of the men-defenders ever came back to the town. Since during excavations neither them nor their weapons were found. However, from now on assaults stopped being a surprise and those who remained started getting prepared for the defense. Probably the first thing the local residents did was hide their belongings, from silver to forging tools. If you hide your

Instruments from a smithy. The ancient settlement Pastyrske

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The treasure of silver adornments which belonged to Severians. A fibula of the Pastyrske type

belongings well, your enemy will not get them. They will be found one thousand odd years later. Either two-meter walls of wood and clay or ramparts, ditches, arrows and spears of the defenders didn’t stopped and couldn’t stop the enemies who were hardened in battles under the walls of impregnable strongholds of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. A shower of arrows swept those who dared to offer resistance off the walls. The wooden fortifications were set on fire. A hopeless fight continued in the streets and at farmsteads of the town; on the site of the fire they found axes of the defenders and points of arrows which were shot by the attackers. However, here already women and children died of arrows and under the blows of sabers. Nobody came back to the site of the fire. This is how “the second life” of the ancient settlement Pastyrske ended in the fire. Thanks to chronicles we know that Khazars reached the lands and farther to the

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North, having conquered Slavic tribes there. And people there also hid their silver in the ground and never came back for it. Those owners of the silver who didn’t die during assaults went far abroad, to be more exact, went to Baghdad and Damascus as slaves to distant slave markets in order to be sold for glittering silver dirgems. Silver adornments of the 6th–the 7th century

Section 11

The outpost of the Empire he campaigns of Huns and their allies seemed to have changed the ratio of forces in Europe and its nearest outskirts forever and not in favor of the successors of once powerful Rome. The fragments of the Empire switched to the defense; barbarians commanded Gaul, Britain, Iberia, the north of Italy and Africa. The borders on the Danube appeared to be “transparent” for hostile intrusions. It seemed that a bit longer and the last powerful fortresses would fall, the invincible legions would disappear like dew in the sun and then Slavs, the Germanic tribes would already rule former Roman provinces. However, as it often happens in history, neighbors underestimated the resources and the potential of the great state and also the abilities of its rulers. Meanwhile, people in Constantinople not only carefully observed the development of events, but also worked on quite concrete plans connected with the restoration of the might of the Empire on its former borders – from the mountains of the Caucasus to Gibraltar. In these plans a certain place was allotted to Taurica, its once free and independent poleis. When these plans became a reality, all of them became the Northern-Eastern outpost of the great state of Romei.

T

Chersonesos–Kherson–Korsun Centuries passed, conquerors came and went away, the authority changed, but the city remained in its place. Only its name changed at different times. Time passed and the name of antique Chersonesos was changed to Kherson. This part of its history is rather well-known thanks to written documents and chronicles, the contents of which make it possible sometimes to supplement or even understand the results of excavations. These are events from the long and not very simple history of the ancient city the ruins of which can now be seen in the outskirts of Sevastopol, one of the biggest and most important naval bases on the Black Sea.

However, one and a half thousand years ago the ships of one of the European super-states also dropped the anchor in local bays. We can even try to imagine what it looked like. Battle ships entered Quarantine Bay. The local residents silently watched grey shadows which quietly crawled along the smooth surface of the water in a narrow bay. You could recognize pennants of the powerful Empire on the masts. Of course, these dromons and chelandia with sub-units of naval infantry on board didn’t come to the shores of Taurica as conquerors. This is salvation, assistance from the powerful Roman people and their king. Assistance which came, of course, at the request of the people and the local authorities of Kherson.

“The storehouse of antiquities”, the first archeological museum on the territory of Chersonesos–Kherson, the picture of the beginning of the 20th century

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The Byzantine Empire after victorious wars of the times of the ruling of Justinianus I

A satellite image of the location of Chersonesos–Kherson

The freedom of the city will be the payment for the rescue from barbarians who approached from the North; the new authorities will call the city Kherson instead of Chersonesos. And almost for one thousand years the emperors in the distant capital will decide the destiny of the city and the people who live there. Probably this is what the provision of assistance to Taurica Chersonese on the part of the friendly Byzantine Empire looked like when dromons under the banner of the emperor Justinianus I entered its port under oars, having hauled down the sail. It is thought that as far back as in the 5th century Chersonesos, just like before, was an ally of the Empire as on its territory there were no Byzantine military sub-units. It even received a not very generous military subsidy from the center. It together with part of the local taxes was spent on maintaining detachments of ballista operators who were recruited among the local residents. They found out about the existence of this sub-unit and the peculiarities of its financing thanks to the inscription of the 5th century which was found during excavations. The name of warriors suggests that they served catapults, ballistae. Such military equipment could be used both during the defense of a city (ballistae were placed on towers) and during battles in a field. Images of such devices which are put on a wheeled carriage which are similar to field guns are known. Lead balls or darts could be used as rounds for ballistae. Such “artillery” was a rather powerful means of the destruction of the hostile troops at a great distance which exceeded the hitting range of bows. Even heavy cavalry which was covered with heavy armor, like Sarmatians or Persian cataphracts, wouldn’t stand under such fire. However, already in the times of the predecessors of Justinianus I people in Constantinople showed considerable interest in the lands of Taurica. The emperor Zeno didn’t spare money for rebuilding and reinforcing the walls of the city. During excavations they found an appropriate inscription which was carved on a stone plate. One of the most powerful towers from which only the lower part remained still bears its name. The thickness of its walls amounts to a few meters and they can stand the blows of not only a battering ram or a ballista, but also probably an artillery shell. The emperor Anastasius I Dikor was not indifferent to the destiny of Kherson either. As a result, either Huns or some other nomads who intruded into Taurica and even A coin of the emperor Zeno (476—491 AD)

Kherson. The modern view of the remains of “the tower of Zeno” and the adjoining part of the city walls

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Justinianus I, a fragment of the mosaic from Ravenni. Italy

stayed in its steppes for some time never managed to overcome the powerful fortifications of Kherson. However, uninvited guests regularly ravaged and robbed the rural suburbs. And they even tried to settle down

A coin of the there. It is conemperor spicuously sugJustinianus I gested by round bases of nomads’ yurts paved with stone which were found during excavations. These are the places of winter camps. And they are situated in the places where there were fields and vineyards of Chersonesits before them. It is clear that the new neighbors undermined the economics of the city to a great extent. In such a situation its death would be just a matter of time. So, the help from overseas was the only chance for salvation. Only in the times of the emperor Justinianus I (who ruled from 527 to 565 AD) the Byzantine state acquired enough might to pass to the offensive. Only the army numbered more than half a million soldiers. The Byzantine Empire didn’t send such armies and such flotillas neither before that nor after that. There were legends that the emperor never slept and both in the daytime and in the nighttime worked for the benefit of the state. And this state (with its capital in Constantinople), according to the emperor’s plan, was to unite all the lands which had ever been subordinate to Rome! So, Kherson and the cities of the Bosporus which were situated in the outskirts of the Roman state occupied a certain place in the plans of the emperor1. Thanks to

Kherson, the remains of the city fortifications with a wicket gate for sallies 1

The building activity of the emperor Justinianus I was described in the work of the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea — “De Aedificiis” (About buildings) which was written in distant 560 AD.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Byzantine sources we know that the walls of former strongholds were “absolutely decayed” then. Indeed, constructions which were built of stone with the use of a lime-stone mortar require repair at least once per 10–15 years, not to mention capital repair. Romei started with the repair of fortresses and city walls. However, the building activity of Byzantines was not limited to considerable cities and even to the construction of watch fortifications in Hurzuvita (now Hurzuf) and Aluston (Alushta). They started a largescale reinforcement of the borders on the distant approaches to the seaside cities. You can see the traces of this “construction of the age” in the Crimea even now2.

Life at the turn of epochs Life, to be more exact, survival at the turn of historic epochs was not easy. Since the described above events took place at the turn of antiquity and the Middle Ages, at the beginning of the dark centuries. In other words, in the times of the crisis which meanly affected the entire ancient world. So, the experience of people who survived the hard times and overcame ordeals which fell to their lot is extremely interesting. In spite of the difficulties, they preserved quite a lot of achievements of the antique civilization. In those times the population of Kherson, according to some researchers, amounted to about 6–7 thousand people. The appearance of yurts in the place of fields and vineyards, one would think, is definite evidence of the decay of at least the agrarian sector. However, in reality the life in Kherson and its outskirts continued. Not only fortifications, powerful walls and towers were rebuilt in

Fish hooks which were found during excavations in the medieval layers of Kherson

the city. New public buildings – Christian temples3 – basilicas, chapels and shelters for the poor appeared. Entire blocks were rebuilt. Where did the investments come from, were these really subsidies from Constantinople or did the local taxes allow carrying out such large-scale construction work? Excavations showed that Chersonesits managed to find new sources of earnings not only for survival, but also for the improvement and further development of the city. The sea became their breadbasket instead of fields of wheat and vineyards. They could catch quite a lot of fish in the sea. During excavations they also found big fish hooks which were made of iron. A considerable number of fish, especially small ones, were caught with the help of nets. Already in the antique times they were familiar with the technology of processing these small fish into quite an eatable and even dainty, according to some experts, product – a fish dressing. It is the development of this trade that is connected with the finds in Kherson of complexes for salting fish which are dated to the 6th–the 7th century. Cisterns where actually the process of the transformation of salted small fish into “the dressing” which was later sold was carried out were an important part of the complexes. During excavations they found more than 35 cisterns which are dated to from the 6th to the 10th century. The volume of some of them amounted to 250 m2. It means that

The modern view of the main street of Kherson

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You can find more details about the ancient strongholds in the mountains of Taurica in the section: “Taurica: life on the frontier”. You can find more details about the spreading of Christianity in Taurica in the section: “The light of faith”.

Section 11. The outpost of the Empire

The remains of the city walls of Kherson

the owner of such a device could salt about 200 tons of fish (one cube of “the dressing” weighs about 800 kg). Thus a few dozens of cisterns could contain 6–8 thousand tons of the finished product. The flourishing of the fishing business was promoted, among other issues, by the ideological factor, to be more exact, by the state religion, Christianity. As you know, in the Christian calendar there are quite a lot of fasting days which provide for certain limitation of nutrition. The most popular change for meat is fish. If we take into account the fact that in the official calendar of that epoch there were about two hundred such days and the church and the state carefully watched the fasting, then we can try to imagine to what extent the demand for any sea food increased in those times. In order to prepare and preserve fish they needed a big quantity of salt – its source was also in the sea. Saltworks were situated not very far from the city – the ancient geographer Strabo says that the distance was about 15 stadia. They were situated over the bay in the estuary. The procurement of this product was seasonal and ended at the beginning of autumn, in September. The extraction of salt was based on the use of “ecologically clean” sources of energy – water from a concentrated solution of salt was evaporated by sunbeams. In order to take out the prepared dressing they needed vessels. Since they didn’t make tankers in those times yet that’s why, just like before, the dressing was poured in ceramic vessels, amphorae. Plenty of them were made in numerous seaside cities and villages. Finally the transportation of the finished product was carried out by sea. In order to do this they needed ships and sailors. Thus the workers of the agrarian sector of Kherson eventually turned into fisher-

men, salt workers and sailors. And in addition they also turned into stonemasons, builders, potters, woodcutters and shipbuilders – there was enough work for everybody. Merchants who had bought and resold wheat profitably before started selling other goods. And again the sea was an ideal way for taking them out to big cities of the empire – perhaps only Constantinople (probably the only city of Europe of that time with a population of one million people) with its monasteries could eat almost all the yearly catch of fishermen near the shores of Taurica. Besides, neighbors-barbarians gladly bought the products of the local skilled craftsmen who at that time were familiar with the most advanced technologies of making ceramics, products of metal and glass. Nomads willingly bought belt sets – different clasps, removable pendants and also fibulas which were made according to the metropolitan or local fashion. Not only tableware, but also icon lamps, an important attribute of the Christian cult, were made of glass. The so-called glasses-icon lamps were particularly popular. All these things were found in burial places, sometimes quite far from the borders of the Byzantine lands on the territory of the Crimea. Coins which had been minted in Kherson were found in Khazar Sarkel during excavations. A lamp with a relief image of a bird. Chersonesos. The 5th –the 6th century

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The test for durability

The port part of Kherson, after excavations

Kherson, the remains of the medieval city walls

What they couldn’t make on the spot, in Taurica, was brought by merchants from overseas. The shortest sea route to Constantinople was covered even by a low-speed trade ship in 10–11 days. And when the route lay along the shore, it took not less than two weeks. Goods were brought to Taurica from Constantinople, Asia Minor, the island Cyprus and even from the imperial territories in North Africa: cloth (wool and silk), spices, wine and also other beautiful and nice things which were in popular demand not only in the city, but also among the neighbors who were familiar with the delights of the civilization. They also brought grain which people in Kherson lacked so much now. This is how Kherson survived the hard times and passed from one epoch to another – from antiquity to the Middle Ages. However, the local residents probably had somewhat different counting of the history which was based on the rulings of emperors who were more or less loyal to subjects in their distant overseas territories. And later Taurica acquired another name in Byzantine written sources which seemed to have come from a fairy tale, “Zamorya” — “Land over the Sea”.

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The imperial outpost in Taurica passed a serious test for durability when in the second year of the ruling of the emperor Tiberius II new conquerors came to the lands of the peninsula. Approximately in 579–580 nomads-Turks who were joined by the remains of Huns and Alan tribes appeared here. Kherson appeared in a siege and multitribal troops were deployed under its walls. Seals-molivdovuls of Tiberius II which were found in the city may suggest that the emperor was concerned about the destiny of the territories in Taurica. The supreme power of the Empire was represented here by officials who stayed in Kherson. Thanks to the finds of inscriptions and seals we know some of their names including Eupaterius who had the rank of Stratilatus and occupied the position of the dux. Modern historians argue about what this combination of titles could mean. They agree that most likely we are speaking about the combination of both the civil and military power in the hands of one person. Among the titles of the owners of seals “camerciari” and “strategoi” are met most often. The former worked for the tax administration and the latter represented military structures. This dualism quite objectively reflects the peculiarities of the relations of Constantinople with its overseas territories which were supposed to pay their taxes in time, but which it also had to defend and control. Thanks to the finds of seals we know the names of some officials among whom are Simeon, George, Phocus, Theophilus, Ivanes, Nikephoros, Sergius, Leo and many others. There were also protospatharios and simple spatharios, spatharokandidatos, patrikios, strategos, logothete here – the table of ranks in the The impressions of the seals of officials of Kherson

Section 11. The outpost of the Empire Byzantine Empire was rather complicated and understandable only for the initiated. Camerciari served in the customs house which was situated in the eastern block of the city, in Pheon. Their duties included the registration of ships, cargoes which were transported by them. It is there that most seals which accompanied the important customs documentation were found. The most ancient seal is dated to the 7th century and most finds are dated to the end of the 8th and the 9th century. Perhaps it is then that the activity of the customs service was particularly intensive (and profitable). The power in the city was seized by the local elite (its representatives were called in documents on the old pattern as “protevons” and “archons”) for which the cooperation with the central authority was vitally important. In those hard times Kherson needed support from outside, both military and economic one. On the other hand, this elite had its own interests and protected them as much as possible. However, Kherson was considered in Constantinople to be a rather reliable city. And rather remote. It was remote enough to turn it into a place of exile. The enemies of the emperor were exiled here; anybody could be among these enemies – from the disgraced Pope Martin, preachers, episcopes and small conspirators to the brother of the emperor and even the overthrown emperor Justinianus II. However, the latter managed to bring back the power, relying on the support of Khazars, the new neighbors of the empire in Taurica. The appearance of Khazars in the lands of Taurica in the 7th–the 8th century also led to a certain shift of borders. However, the khaganate and the empire had the common enemy, the Arab caliphate. For this reason they had to

In some places Kherson had two lines of fortifications

learn to come to an agreement not only about borders, but also about mutual military operations. One of the emperors married a Khazar princess and their son, Leo, having become an emperor in his turn, went down in history as Leo the Khazar. The Byzantine Empire provided their allies with rather unusual services in the military field. Thus in 839 AD an embassy of Khazars came to the court of the emperor Theophilus with a request to build a fortress (on the river Don!) for the protection of an important crossing from unquiet neighbors (first of all Pechenegs). In order to fulfill this mission the ruler of the Byzantine Empire sent the strategos (in the rank of protospatharios) Petronas Kamateros who received under his command not only the chelandia of the imperial fleet, but also the ships which were attached to the shore of Asia Minor. Sea ships couldn’t go to the river Don that’s why they had to leave them in Kherson. However, here they found quite a lot of ships of the necessary types in order to deliver construction materials. The fortress Sarkel was built in time and the KhazarByzantine friendship became stronger. Petronas Kamateros also informed the emperor about the mood in Taurica and gave important advice concerning the local elite: “don’t trust their protevons and archons”. Evidently the emperor followed the advice and took a decision to reorganize the administration in Taurica according to the pattern which had been adopted before for most lands of the Byzantine state. The essence of the reform consisted

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The mosaic from the Uvarov basilica. Kherson

in the organization of “the theme of Klimata”, a militaryadministrative district (the number of themes in the empire in the 10th century amounted to 26). Each theme attached a military detachment of certain quantity which

was maintained in the district. The theme was commanded by the strategos. The first strategos of the theme of Klimata was Petronas Kamateros himself. It is thought that the center of command was situated not in Chersonesos, but somewhere beyond its boundaries. First of all they name the fortification Eski-Kermen4. In the northeast the borders of the theme stretched to Mangup (which was probably called Doros or Dori in those times) and in the southeast they stretched to Aluston (Alushta). The strategos of Kherson appears later in the list of strategoi of the empire and the mention about the theme of Klimata disappears – probably together with the theme itself which partially became the plunder of bellicose neighbors. You can see quite different names of strategoi on seals and their list is not that short. And it means that in Taurica they changed the military administration quite often so that they don’t acquire too important (and dangerous for the emperor) connections in the cities of their attachment. Probably, just like in old times, military ships were based in Chersonesos; they found a seal of the fleet commander-topotirit Hadrianus there. As a result of timely measures the power of Constantinople over Kherson and its outskirts was preserved and even became stronger.

Archeological excavations in the southern part of Chersonesos–Kherson, 2001

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You can find more details about Eski-Kermen in the section: “Taurica: life on the frontier”.

Section 12

The light of faith n the 40s of the 19th century it occurred to the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church to turn the Crimea into “Russian Athos”. In order to do this they planned to restore ancient temples and monasteries and to build new ones. The idea didn’t appear out of nowhere since the Christian tradition in the Crimea is much older than the date of the official Christianization of Rus at the end of the 10th century. In terms of quantity and particularly in terms of antiquity of the holy places Taurica can’t be compared with any other place in this part of the Orthodox world. The history of Taurica-Crimea formed in such a way that most ancient Christian shrines survived to this day only in the form of more or less picturesque ruins which are accessible for researches of archeologists. Thanks to their efforts quite a lot of details of the sometimes dramatic history of the establishment and spreading of the new faith on the peninsula have been revealed.

I

Legends and history They started writing down the history of the spreading of Christianity in the first centuries of the Common Era including the one in Taurica a little more than one thousand years ago. At that time this history had already managed to acquire tales and even legends and it was rather difficult to verify their trustworthiness even then. However, nobody really cared about it. According to legends, Saint Andrew1 himself came to Taurica on a mission. At first Scythia was called the apostle’s domain. Then in the 4th–the 5th century new details about the fact that he preached in Thrace, Bithynia and Pontus, Colchis and even in distant Asian Sogdiana appeared. Then they already started speaking about a few journeys of Saint Andrew and the cities of the Crimea Kerch, Kherson (Korsun) and Feodosiya were also added to the cities where he had preached (besides other areas). Later, when Rus was already Christianized, it turned out that from Korsun-Kherson the Apostle went up along the Dnieper in order to put up a cross on Kyiv mountains and to predict the appearance of a great city with many sacred places here. Some time later his route was prolonged even farther to distant Novgorod (according to another version “only” to Novhorod-Siversky). It’s worth remembering that in the 19th century in Kyiv they even tried to find that very place where this cross was put up. The excavations were carried out on the moun1

The monument to Saint Andrew in Kyiv which was built in 2000

You can find more details about the travel of Saint Andrew in: І. Жиленко. Християнство до заснування Київської Русі // Діти Сонця. Цивілізації давньої України. — К. , 2000 (I. Zhylenko. Christianity before the foundation of Kievan Rus // Children of the Sun. Civilizations of ancient Ukraine).

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Kherson, the temple which was called “The basilica of 1935” by archeologists according to the time of excavations

tain Uzdykhalnytsya near the place where the Saint Andrew's Church is situated now. However, the finds (they found a pit-grain storage and there were fragments of a cross and the framework of an icon and also some other church things in it) were never recognized officially as the evidence of this important even. Despite all doubts concerning the historicity of the journeys of Saint Andrew along the Dnieper (and these doubts were expressed both in the 18th and in the 19th century, to say nothing about the 20th century) temples and monuments were put up on Kyiv mountains in his honor. However, the chroniclers of Rus had their own opinion concerning the fact which of the apostles was related to the Christianization of Slavs. They call the name of Saint Paul who, travelling around the imperial territories in Europe, reached

A bronze lamp

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Moravia and Illyricum. If we remember another annalistic record about the fact that at first Slavs “lived on the Danube”, then the logic of the authors of this theory is quite clear. It turns out that the Slavic people was first converted to Christianity already in their Danube “homeland” and not by somebody, but by Saint Paul himself and “we, the Rus, are descended from that people” as the chronicler wrote down. And now just one small thing is lacking: to find the traces of the stay of Slavs in the 1st century on the territory of Moravia or Illyricum. Basing on the evidence which can as well be called documentary, we know about the existence in the 4th century of the Scythian eparchy which sometimes gives grounds to make conclusions about the spreading of Christianity to the East of the Danube at that time. However, we are actually speaking about the Roman (and then Byzantine) province the boundaries of which ended on the Danube2. Since the capital of the Scythian eparchy was the city of Tomoi (the modern city of ConstanÛa in Romania). However, in Northern-Western Black Sea region the new faith also found followers beyond the boundaries of the empire. It was adopted by part of Goths who managed to get acquainted very closely before that and somebody even managed to travel with weapons in their hands around the lands of Romei. There was even a Gothic eparchy the head of which (it was the mentioned above Ulfilas) was ordained by the Archbishop of Constantinople himself between 348 and 349. The first bishop became famous for translating the Holy Writ into

This land was sometimes called “Scythia Minor” as a remembrance of the times when Scythians ruled here and they ruled in the 4th–the 3rd century BC. More details in the chapter 1 in the section “Three Scythias”.

Section 12. The light of faith The point of a crosier

his mother tongue and in order to do this he had to invent a new alphabet since he couldn’t rewrite the Word of God, using pagan runes. When most Goths left the territories of the Land in search of a better destiny, the center of the eparchy was relocated to Taurica where it existed for more than one thousand years. Christian communities appear in Taurica, especially in major cities, in Chersonesos and on the Bosporus3. Quite a lot of finds of the things with Christian symbols, inscriptions-graffiti which are dated to the 4th–the 5th century are known. It is thought that the number of the followers of the new faith was small at first and they tried to perform their rites secretly. In order to do this they used catacombs and ancient crypts. You can see inscriptions with Christian symbols even on the walls of the monumental tomb of the Scythian time under the burial mound in Kerch. It is thought that the Kherson eparchy appeared approximately in 300 AD. The signature of the bishop of Kherson is put under the documents of the first Ecumenical Councils including the Nicaea one (325 AD!) and the Constantinople one. Kherson bishops were fearless people who sometimes conflicted with the authorities that’s why they were pursued for their faith by pagans. So, it is not surprising that the work called “The life of saint bishops of Kherson” which described their life and feats in the name of Faith appeared in the Byzantine Empire later. The list of the local saints is not that short – Kapiton, Basil, Eugene, Agathodoros, Elpidios, Aetherios and many, many others. Later the eparchy of Sourozh (Sugdeya) The impressions of seals which were found during excavations in Partenit

3

Excavations and the process of the restoration of “The basilica of 1935”, the 1950s of the 20th century

also appeared in the east of the peninsula. Some time later one of their bishops, Stephen, was also recognized as the saint. There are quite a lot of finds of seals of church hierarchs of that time in the Crimea. And when Christianity became a state religion, they started building temples and the first monasteries appeared. In those times temples were built not just anywhere, but in places which were connected with martyrs for faith and with wonders showed by them. Thus in Kherson the so-called Uvarov basilica is connected with the bishop Kapiton, the Western basilica is connected

About the spreading of Christianity in Taurica: В. М. Зубарь, А. И. Хворостяный. От язычества к христианству. — К., 2000. (V. M. Zubar, A. Yu. Khvorostyany. From paganism to Christianity).

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The mosaic of “Basilica in basilica” The lead ampulla with holy relics. The 5th–the 6th century

with the bishop Basil. The construction (“the martyrium of Saint Kapiton”) which was built in the place of an ancient stove for burning calcium is connected with the wonder of Saint Kapiton. It was found by archeologists right under the ancient mosaic floor of the temple. It is known from the life of this saint that the local residents were already ready to be Christianized, but first they wanted the preacher to show them a wonder. So, in order to convince unbelievers Kapiton had to go into the stove which was burning, uttering a prayer, and to go out of it intact, “holding coals in his mouth”. However, stoves (and pits) for calcium were also found

The modern view of the remains of “The basilica of 1935”

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next to other ancient temples, for example “The basilica of 1935”. There is nothing extraordinary or striking in it. Since the walls of temples were built with the use of a calcium mortar which was prepared right near the construction site. So, such objects were supposed to be on the construction site near every more or less big building. In the times of the Empire Kherson and Taurica had an ill fame as the place of exile, for instance, of vergers who were in disgrace of the temporal power. One of the most famous exiles was Pope Clement who was sent to a stone quarry as far back as in the 1st century. True, they also argue that we are speaking not about a simple stone quarry, but about a

Section 12. The light of faith

Kherson, the remains of the Uvarov basilica. On the foreground there is a pool-delubrum

Kherson, the ruins of “The western basilica” The plan of the complex of the Uvarov basilica according to the data of archeological researches

“marble quarry” and there is no marble in the Crimea. So, the other Chersonesos, in Asia Minor, could be the place of exile for Clement. However, the relics of Saint Clement were found by the illuminators of Slavs Cyril and Methodius in Kherson and then they were divided – part of them were delivered to Rome and part of them were left in Kherson and then (after the Christianization of Rus) they appeared in Kyiv. On a small island near the shore in the area of Kherson there are ruins of an ancient temple which is connected with finding the relics of Saint Clement. Later in 655 AD Pope Martin who accused of heresy not somebody, but the patriarch of Constantinople was exiled to Kherson. His letters in which he complains about the character of the local residents, the high prices for bread and other foodstuff, asks for material aid have been preserved. Pope Martin also complained about the hard-heartedness and lack of sympathy on the part of his former subordinates who were not willing to send him not only gold, but even wine with bread. He died in exile in Kherson in the autumn of 655 AD – that was the result of not only severe conditions, but also his age and diseases. Besides ancient legends, monumental memorials which are connected with the spreading of the new faith in Taurica are also of particular interest.

“Basilica in basilica”. Kherson

Temple building in Taurica The biggest number of ancient Christian temples have been excavated on the territory of Kherson. More than three dozen of them have been found here. These constructions are solid and built of stone. Actually this circumstance eventually led to the decay of the masterpieces of the Byzantine architecture – some time later they were disassembled stone after stone by thrifty people who used them in new constructions which were necessary for their farmsteads. Researchers gave their own names to ancient temples which are sometimes rather remote from their real names.

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“Basilica in basilica”. Kherson

Some of them were called in honor of researchers; this is how the Uvarov basilica received its name. Its excavations were started by the Count Uvarov4 as far back as in 1853, on the eve of the Crimean War. During the siege of Sevastopol by the allied forces (Britain, France and Turkey) the ancient settlement including the remains of the basilica which had just been excavated was damaged to a great extent – Frenchmen set a camp here. Three temples were called, basing on their location, to be more exact basing on the cardinal directions; there is a Western, “The western basilica” in the section, reconstruction of Yu.G. Losytskyi

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Eastern and Northern basilica. A few objects were just called basing on the years they were excavated. This is how “Basilica of 1932” and “Basilica 1935” appeared on the map of Kherson. All these temples were rebuilt more than once or twice, which is suggested by such a modern name as “Basilica in basilica”. There is even “an out-oftown temple”; it is situated beyond the fortress walls. As we can see, most names contain the word “basilica”. This is an ancient type of temples which were built on the territory of Kherson and then all over Taurica. It originates from the pagan past and is connected with democratic traditions of ancient city-states, especially Rome. This is a type of a public building which is used for gathering a great number of people. The building is of simple construction in itself. As a rule, the basilica was rectangular in plan view. From the eastern side a semicircular apse adjoined the rectangle. If you add a few more rectangles with apses to both sides of the rectangle, you will get a typical Byzantine basilica. Each such part of the temple is called a nave. As a rule, they built three-nave temples. “The Uvarov basilica” had three naves with the overall length of 51 m and the width of 24 m. It could as well accommodate up to one thousand and even more believers. If we remember that all the population of Kherson in those times didn’t exceed 10 thousand people, then the scale is very

The count was the founder and the head (in 1866–1884) of the Imperial Moscow Archeological Society and also the Imperial Russian Historical Museum in Moscow (now it is State Historical Museum).

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Kherson. The mosaic of “the out-of-town temple”

impressive. The complex of the temple also included a source of water, ciborium, which was built in front of the entrance, a few more buildings, and a yard which was surrounded with a stone wall. Probably it is here that the residence of bishops of Kherson was situated and the temple was a cathedral. The dimensions of other Kherson temples are somewhat smaller: from 17–20 m in terms of width to 25–30 m in terms of length. Solid internal walls were replaced with columns so that people who are in the side parts of the basilica could see and hear everything that is happening in

the temple well. They were real adornments of the temple and in order to make them they used not only the local stones, but also marble (which was brought from overseas!). In one of the basilicas of Kherson, “the Uvarov one”, there used to be 22 columns, 11 in each row and in “The basilica of 1935” there were 6 columns in each row. The bigger the basilica was, the more there were columns. Of course, not every community could afford such luxury. Now the remains of ancient columns adorn mostly expositions or lapidaria–museum collections of architectural details. Only among the ruins of Kherson-Chersonesos there are still marble columns which are situated in the places where the first Christian temples of this ancient city were once built. The midsection of the basilica which was covered with a double-pitch roof was made higher and there was

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Excavations and the restoration of “The basilica of 1935”, the 1950s of the 20th century

enough light in the middle of the temple which went through the windows situated under the ceiling. Their number symbolized Trinity. The side naves had monopitch roofs and blind external walls. Sometimes they built a second floor (which was called a gynaeceum or a choir) where you could go up, using the stairs which were built from the anteroom (it was called a narthex). In the Crimea the walls of the basilica were usually built of stone as there was plenty of this material here. In hard times they used stones from more ancient buildings for construction. When even harder times had come, they started building walls of adobe. Walls were painted and adorned with molding – the remains of the solemn décor are sometimes found during excavations. An instance when the walls of a basilica in Kherson which were built of stone were plastered and

The basilica of EskiKermen. Reconstruction of Yu.G. Losytskyi

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We are speaking about “The basilica of 1935”.

The mosaic of “Basilica in basilica” A lead painted is known. The cross, the painting imitated… 6th–the 7th 5 brickwork . Obviously, century the customer asked to recreate the interior of the temple which was built of flat bricks, plinthite, that was traditional for the Byzantine Empire. Not walls, but the floors of ancient basilicas were preserved best of all. They are of particular interest. The material of which they are made is also an indicator of the wealth of a community (or a private person) at whose expense a temple was built. The simplest floors were made of bricks or stone plates. Sometimes the floor was composite – in the central nave the floor was made of plates and the floor of the side naves was made of bricks. The most luxurious (and interesting) floors are mosaic ones which are laid with colored stones with the use of a mortar. Most of the remains of such luxury were found during excavations of basilicas of Kherson. After all, this was

Section 12. The light of faith

The remains of the cave temple. Eski-Kermen

the biggest (and the wealthiest) city in the Byzantine lands on the territory of Taurica. You can see a few such masterpieces in the museum of the nature reserve and on the territory of the ancient city. Probably the most famous mosaic which was found in “the out-of-town temple” is the one with images of peacocks and a cup. These symbols appeared as far back as in the first centuries of the existence of Christianity and soon disappeared from the décor of temples. There is a mosaic with images of birds which are placed on medallions. Fragments of simpler mosaics, in the form of different geometric figures have also been preserved. There were also basilicas beyond the boundaries of Kherson. They are known in many places, first of all in fortified ones – in Eski-Kermen, Mangup, Tepsen and others. They started building them in the 6th–the 7th century and they were rebuilt in the 8th–the 9th century, often with the use of stones from more ancient constructions. Some researchers think that during the initial building of A lamp with Christian symbols, the 4th–the 6th century

basilicas they received support from the state which was interested in the strengthening of the new faith in the outskirts of the empire. Since, indeed, the greatness of temples is the second argument in terms of cogency after powerful walls of impregnable strongholds.

The crypts of Kherson Among the antiquities which are connected with the new faith ancient crypts, the burial places of Chersonesits, occupy a special place. According to the ancient tradition, wealthy families buried the dead in catacombs which were made in the thickness of a rock. These were small rooms with niches-benches in walls. As a rule, there were three of such niches; they could also be arranged in a few tiers. The narrow entrance was closed with a stone plate. Probably such places were also marked in a certain way on the surface once. However, some time later the old necropolises were abandoned (and then robbed). Ancient burial places were forgotten till the residents of the new city, Sevastopol, started finding ancient catacombs from time to time.

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The paintings of crypt № 1 which was researched in 1998

Starting with the second half of the 19th century archeologists grew interested in crypts. Since besides the burial instruments wall inscriptions6 were preserved in some crypts. True, the condition of frescos was far from being ideal, but they constitute interest for studying the life and beliefs of Chersonesits including the ones in the time of the spreading of Christianity. All the crypts received ordinal numbers and the most famous ones are called according to the year of their excavation (“the crypt of 1909”) or the place of their finding (“the crypt of M. Tur”, i.e. in the farmstead of Mr. Tur). It is quite difficult to make out half-erased images as besides the fact that they

are damaged and fragmentary, their symbols were (and still are) clear only to the initiated. In “the crypt of 1909” there are remains of a fresco with the image of a boy who carries a lit candle. His face is round, his hair is red and short. He wears white clothes the creases and the contour of which are marked with red lines. The candle is one of the attributes of the Christian religious service, the symbol of light, the light of Faith. In crypt № 511 on the wall which is situated to the left of the entrance there was an image of two naked human figures which lay together. Their heads are crowned with wreaths and behind the back there are wings. It is thought that this is an allegorical image of those who pass to the other world on the wings of angels. However, there are images which are more difficult for interpreting. Thus in 1998 they studied two crypts with

Crypt № 511. The allegorical image of passing to the other world

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The most detailed (and well-illustrated) description of the crypts of Kherson with paintings which were known at the beginning of the 20th century can be found in the book: М. И. Ростовцев. Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. — Петроград, 1914 (M.I. Rostovtsev. Antique decorative painting in the south of Russia). You can also get acquainted with crypts and paintings thanks to the multimedia publication: В. Зубарь, М. Видейко. Склепы с раннехристианскими росписями из Херсонеса. — Киев, 2001 (V. Zubar, M. Videiko. Crypts with early Christian paintings from Kherson).

Section 12. The light of faith

Paintings from “the crypt of 1909” with the image of a boy with a candle

the remains of paintings which were accidentally found on the western shore of Quarantine Bay. Probably for the first time in one hundred years archeologists entered an ancient crypt with paintings on walls. To be more exact, with what remained from paintings. From crypt № 1 there was a short corridor, dromos, from the surface. In order to enter the very crypt, you had to go down by three steps which were cut in the rock. These three steps are three steps to the other world. Three niches-benches are cut in the walls of the crypt and in the corners there are small shelves for lamps. In some places on the walls plaster has been preserved and there is painting on it. Along the perimeter, below the level of benches, there are two strips: the upper one is red and the lower one is black. Above is the color of life and below is the color of death. Above the red strip there are images of garlands of red colors and these garlands are fastened with thin black funeral ribbons. Between gar-

lands or next to them there are also images of red flowers which are very similar to roses. To the left of the entrance to the crypt you can see the image of a cup. This thing played an important role in Christian symbols. The cup is glass; such cups were used during religious service in ancient times. In one of the niches an image of a peacock which was painted in the blue color with a A lamp with Christian symbols, the 4th–the 6th century

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The paintings on the stele of “the crypt № 2114” resembles the paintings in catacombs of Rome

brown tail has been preserved. You can’t but remember the image of peacocks on mosaics of one of the Christian temples of Kherson. Only separate spots of paint remained on the ceiling. It is quite possible that these are also traces of painting. Since they have found frescos which were preserved on the ceiling of other crypts! Researchers think that there was a period when the followers of the new faith secretly gathered for religious service for which the crypts situated out of town were an ideal place. The corresponding paintings which are clear only to the initiated appeared in the same period. It is

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rather difficult to date them. On the one hand, in the crypts they found coins, lamps and other things which can be dated to the 3rd–the 4th century. On the other hand, the style of paintings suggests the second half of the 5th or even the 6th century. The spreading of plant motives in images is similar to the Christian art of the eastern regions of the Empire. Taking into account the data about the arrival of preachers in Kherson exactly from there, the peculiarities of frescos mustn’t arouse any surprise. Probably this is not the last find like that which has been preserved in the land of ancient Taurica.

Section 13

Taurica: life on the frontier hen the Byzantine Empire concentrated on the defense of its capital and its nearest outskirts from the armies of the caliph, the population of frontier regions in the mountains of Taurica was left to the mercy of fate. At the same time mountain regions became a shelter for Bulgars and Alans whom the Khazar khaganate couldn’t protect from victorious Arab armies. This was a small country, with cities and fortresses, dozens of castles, big and small villages. Some time later the descendants of Tauri who settled down in the mountains, Scythians, Sarmatians, Goths and other tribes and peoples were joined by refugees from the territory of the Byzantine Empire, especially from Asia Minor. They ran away overseas mostly not because of the conquerors, but because of the local and central authorities which sometimes paid excessive attention to the question of faith. Some time later in the mountains and on some part of the shore a relatively independent and sometimes relatively successful in an economic respect community was formed the fight for the control over which started later between two empires, the Byzantine one and the Khazar khaganate. Ancient documents and chronicles preserved the name of this country which was situated in the mountains of Taurica, Doros or Dori.

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Forgotten strongholds

points. In the narrowness of a gorge sometimes even a few archers can stop a rather numerous hostile detachment. The natural obstacles were once reinforced with artificial ones and now you can notice the remains of ancient walls. Actually “cave towns” resemble fortresses which were built by experienced fortifiers rather than shelters of initial hunters. In the plateaus covered with a forest you can also notice the traces of destroyed buildings which are now

When a plane approaches to land at the airport of Simferopol, for one moment you can see the Crimean mountains, deep green valleys at a distance. Where the steppe plain burnt by the sun borders on the greenery of mountain forests in ancient times there was the shortest way to Chersonesos–Kherson–Korsun, one of the biggest and most powerful cities of the Crimea then. Where this road lies along mountain gorges, on both sides there are majestic and forbidding rocks which resemble sentinels. If you approach some of them, you can see caves. Plenty of caves, sometimes such places are even called “cave towns”. However, their history didn’t start in the Stone Age. People who built them lived almost one and a half thousand years ago. Not far from “cave towns” you can find the remains of walls made of stone or the traces of an ancient rut which was made by the wheels of carts in the limestone. So, “the cave people” were familiar with the art of architecture, to say nothing about the wheel. Caves and corridors were made in the rock mass with the help of iron instruments. The openings of caves someTaurica, the territory of Dori today. The places which were once cities and villages are now covered with the greenery of forests times resemble embrasures of firing

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The view on the caves of Eski-Kermen which were cut in the rock mass

overgrown with shrubs or even trees. The remains of still high constructions, for example, temples, can hide in the forest. Besides, sometimes right on the surface you can come across fragments of tiles and vessels which were made on a potter’s wheel. Thanks to archeological excavations they managed to clarify some pages of the life of “cave towns” of Taurica. We know from ancient chronicles that the emperor Justinianus I took care of the reinforcement of the frontiers of his great state including the ones in Taurica. While his invincible legions headed by the courageous com-

manders Belisarius and Narses gained victories over barbarians in Europe, Africa and Asia, military engineers (and also the local population and garrisons) uninterruptedly worked on the creation (or restoration) of frontier fortifications. It is under their supervision that “the long walls” which blocked the mountain roads were built. Now they could make them inaccessible for the cavalry of nomads – all these Huns, Bulgars, in other words bloodthirsty Tauroscythae who strived to get to the wealthy seaside cities, first of all to Kherson. Then they started establishing fortified settlements in the plateau. Part of rooms were cut in rocks. The received stones could also be used for above-ground structures. This is how “cave towns” appeared. However, it was much easier to organize the defense of the stronghold in the plateau than its system of water supply. Nonetheless, Byzantine builders managed to solve this problem. The water well of the ancient settlement of Eski-Kermen The view on the ancient settlement Chufut Kale from the space. You can notice the traces of fortifications and ancient buildings

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Section 13. Tauris: life on the frontier can be considered one of the peaks of the ancient engineering craftsmanship. In order to supply the defenders of the town with water a deep gallery was made. 80 steep steps still lead to its bottom. Below is a pool in which you could get up to 70,000 liters of water (this amount was sufficient both for the garrison and the residents of the ancient settlement). At the end of the 20th century a similar water well was found in another plateau near Bakhchisaray, in the ancient settlement Chufut Kale. The entrance to it was filled up with ground and only legends were passed from generations to generations about the route which leads to life-giving water. Researchers also think that this construction was built by Byzantine engineers. Where did water come from in a rock, so much water? It turns out that everything of genius is simple. The rock mass absorbs moisture directly from the air; in the same way a cold grey night and an early morning mist give away moisture which accumulates at the bottom of a secret water well. By the way, a similar “device” for collecting water was also found under the fortifications of Kherson. You can’t either block or cut off such a water supply system. You can’t come to an agreement with humid air or mist, perhaps you can only disperse it with the help of spells. However, if you find out where this pool is situated, you can try to approach it from another side. By the way, this is what the hostile troops did once, hav-

The view on “the cave town” of Eski-Kermen

ing laid siege to Eski-Kermen. However, in those ancient times this place was probably called in some other way. They could store the supplies of grain in caves-shelters. Some of catacombs resemble a hive with a small round opening-entrance; it was closed with a massive stone plate. The Byzantine fortified area on the approaches to Kherson successfully existed for about 150 years till the troops were withdrawn from here for the defense of the capital, Constantinople, from Arabs, Avars and Slavs. Byzantine engineers could build as many fortresses as they wished. By the way, the mentioned above invasion is connected with the construction of fortifications on Monastery Rock in Inkerman and also fortresses in Eski-Kermen, Mangup, Chufut Kale, Tepe-Kermen and in other places.

The ruins of a temple which was built for the first time in the 6th–the 8th century in Mangup

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Settlements

Excavations of a building of the 8th–the 9th century near the village of Polyany

Some of the fortifications were so big in terms of the area that they could as well accommodate the population of an entire district, even together with herds. Or a big army if one day the emperor decided to go to conquer the surrounding lands. Thus the area of the protected territory in Mangup amounted to 90 hectares. It is thought that this was that very fortress Dori which was mentioned in ancient sources for many times. Who knows, maybe wise strategists in Constantinople really once developed far-seeing plans connected with the concentration of the invincible legions of Belisarius and Narses in Taurica. The legions which one day were supposed to start the offensive from the East in the rears of barbarians who ruled in Europe? However, the most powerful towers and the highest walls are useless without staunch defenders. In this respect Byzantines acted according to the traditions – they hired one tribe of barbarians so that they protected the border from other tribes of barbarians. In those times there were still descendants of Goths in the mountains who came here as far back as in the times of “the Scythian wars” of the second half of the 3rd century. Alans roamed in the plain. They managed to recruit up to 3,000 people from among the former enemies of the Empire. It is not enough for a big battle in the field, but it is quite sufficient for the defense of impregnable fortresses in the mountains. According to the imperial law dated 530 AD such formations were called foederati. They were considered to be servicemen, milites (it sounds quite modern like “militia”). As for the status, they were equated to stratioti and scholae, the soldiers of the regular army. From time to time archeologists excavate settlements and burial grounds of the new allies (and neighbors) of the empire who preserved their former customs both in terms of the construction of dwellings and in clothes, the way of life, funeral rites.

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They found even more traces of ancient settlements than the traces of fortresses. They were found both in the mountains and on the shore. They were also found on the peak and near the foot of the mountain Ayu-Dag, the famous Vedmid-hora, there are also traces of such villages on the territory of the equally famous camp “Artek”. True, the everyday life of the residents of these villages was not very similar to the leisure time of modern holidaymakers. They found the remains of buildings which were once built of the local stone. They were built without any mortar or with the use of a clay mortar. Sometimes they used rocks to which they attached constructions built of stones that were collected all around. In one of the reports which was drawn up by archeologists they informed that such constructions resembled dens of animals rather than people’s dwellings. Probably researchers had such an impression because lots of villages were found in places which are now rather remote from populated and habitable places and are often covered with a forest. However, some ancient villages were also situated in valleys and in quite a beautiful area. The traces of one of such villages were found in the field near the village of Markur. Its territory was under the plowed field; the remains of buildings were preserved only in two places. They looked like hills overgrown with grass and weeds where in the ground they found “heaps of stones which were very compressed”. They cleaned this blockage and started disassembling it. Among the stones they found quite a lot of fragments of vessels, mostly big ones, which were intended for storing supplies, the so-called pithoi. Such vessels had a sharp bottom, their owners dug them into the ground. That’s why the bottom parts were preserved and were found there as once their owners put them there, in storerooms. Pithoi were rather reliable storages and they were used mostly for grain. Since it was impossible to store liquid in such vessels without special treatment; in a few hours it will leak out through porous walls which are not covered with glaze. Dwellings near the village of Markur were small. The foundation with the size of 5×5 m and

A pithos which was found in the settlement near the village of Polyany after the restoration

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Fragments of the roof which were found during excavations of the ancient settlement Bakla and the mark on the tiles which were found during the researches of the temple in Eski-Kermen

The lower parts of pithoi which were found in a room of the building of the 8th–the 9th century and researched near the village of Polyany

also the traces of attached rooms with the width of only 0.8 m remained from one of them. In the corners of the construction they used processed stones-quadra, between them ordinary stones were laid with the use of a clay mortar. They didn’t manage to determine how the walls were built. Probably they were also built of stone, but the variant of the use of adobe or even wooden walls covered with clay is also possible. The latter assumption is supported by the pieces of coating with the impressions of wooden structures. And the remains of the floor coated with clay were preserved. The layer of ground over the floor was saturated with tiny coals. This is all that remained from the construction of the roof which was burnt more than one thousand years ago. Rafters were supposed to be rather strong in order to bear quite a considerable weight of tiles the fragments of which were also found among the blockage. True, in the opinion of the author of the excavations, they didn’t find many of them – such an amount of tiles is not sufficient for covering all the construction. In connection with this it has been assumed that part of the room had a roof which was covered with divot or thatch. However, the author pointed out that part of tiles had been taken from some more ancient construction. So, another variant is possible: the hard-to-get construction material from the

ruins of the burnt building was taken by thrifty people who came here first. The tiles from the roofs of ancient Taurica buildings are interesting because of their numerous marks including relief ones. Here you can meet letters, one or a few (most often two), images of plants and animals, even pentagrams and a trident. Probably some of the marks played the role of amulets and not just the signs of the manufacturer.

The remains of tiles among the ruins of a building in the settlement near the village of Bobrivka

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A find of the products of iron among the remains of a building in the settlement near the village of Polyany

Among the remains of the dwellings they also found fragments of jugs with a handle, amphorae and also a few ceramic spindle whorls which had been broken long before. The last find is the sign of the fact that the hostess of this dwelling took care of everything from yarn to fabric herself. And the host worked in the field and in the vineyard. They found a massive iron chopper the form of which was intended for working stony land. Next to the chopper there were two strong hinges which could as well be used to hang a door. The fact that there was such a door in the dwelling is confirmed by the removable iron plate with openings for the key which was found in the same place. However, they never found the key (and the lock as well) during

Objects from an ancient farmstead of the 8th–the 9th century which was researched near the village of Polyany: a mattock, treasures and a removable plate for a lock

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excavations. Perhaps the host took them with him for the new dwelling? Or the iron (which was quite expensive at that time) was taken by somebody on the site of the fire together with the intact tiles. The settlements differed in terms of sizes and the number of dwellings. One of the villages which was situated on the southwest slope of Ayu-Dag numbered up to half a hundred of dwellings which were built of the local diorite with the use of a clay mortar. On the walls the thickness of which amounted to one meter the traces of plaster were preserved. Some of the constructions could have two stories. Even the remains of stone enclosures around the sites where you could still see wild vines and such trees as figs and olives were preserved. Ceramics, tiles and even a Byzantine coin which were found here suggest that the village was founded as far back as in the early Middle Ages. Grain growers, herdsmen and fishermen lived here.

An iron mattock which was found during excavations in a medieval settlement in Taurica

They find millstones among the remains of buildings in such settlements. They are stone and small, which means that they didn’t mill much grain – just enough for their family. Cereals were grown in small fields, sometimes on terraces which were made on the slopes of mountains. Grapes were grown in the same place. The determination of the bones of animals which were found during excavations suggest that the local residents bred cattle, pigs, sheep – luckily there were more pastures in the outskirts of mountain villages than fields. The remains of enclosures and sheds for small horned cattle were preserved. This is masonry that resembles a snail in plan view which was raised to the height of up to one meter. They made a tent roof above it and the protection of animals from bad weather is ready. Not only villages and camps of herdsmen were found by archeologists. They found quite a lot of places of making ceramics, both vessels and construction ones, first of all tiles. For instance, a few furnaces were found (and one of them was excavated) in the forest near Miskhor as far back as in the 1950s. True,

Section 13. Tauris: life on the frontier

Excavations of the remains of a potter’s furnace of the 8th–the 9th century in the forest near Miskhor, the 1950s of the 20th century

as it often happened (and happens) in the Crimea treasure hunters were first who “worked” in the place of the potter’s complex. Having checked that there was no gold there, they left a pit of 2×3 m, heaps of dug land which was mixed with a great number of fragments of ceramics after them. Researchers managed to clean the remains of a big potter’s furnace. The area of the burning chamber amounted to 16 m2. Under it there were 9 heating channels and in the handle they made air holes with the diameter of 10–12 cm. The thickness of the handle amounted to 0.3 m in some places. The height of the central heating channel amounted to 1.4 m, that’s why you could put almost entire trunks of trees into the fire chamber. When studying the fragments of vessels they determined that they made amphorae and vessels for wine here. The found furnace is not the only one that’s why probably an entire artel worked here. Somebody was supposed to procure firewood, clay and somebody was supposed to make amphorae. Why were the furnaces installed in such a place which is quite remote from the settlement? Perhaps the availability of raw materials – clay and plenty of wood, i.e. fuel for big, voracious furnaces, were suitable for craftsmen. Well, probably the residents of the village were also glad that such “environmentunfriendly” production was remote from them. They could hardly transport such volumes of the finished products by land; probably part of products were transported by ships, so much more that it was not very difficult to clear the way to the sea from the location area of potter’s furnaces. Craftsmen didn’t work all year long, but only for one season, providing the export of wine which was made in Taurica with vessels.

Forgotten shrines The residents of the country Dori didn’t take care only of the daily bread. With the spreading of Christianity temples became an integral part of cities and even of small villages. And although none of them for obvious reasons has survived to this day, archeologists managed to find and excavate quite a lot of religious constructions which were built

A plan of the temple in Pampuk-Kaya

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The view on the location of the temple in Pampuk-Kaya

from the 6th to the 8th century. The most widely-spread type of temples was basilicas which sometimes were rather big. The basilica in the area of Pampuk-Kaya was situated on the peak of the plateau over the river Belbek1. Its dimensions are not impressive – approximately 10×11 m, that’s why it was intended for one hundred church attenders, not more. The remains of the walls which were preserved are only 0.3–0.5 m high. The socle was laid with plates the space between which was filled with stones with the use of a lime mortar. The walls were probably covered with plaster and most likely were painted; the only thing is that no traces of such décor were found. A solidus of the emperor Heraclius (610–641) which was found in the tomb of the temple in Pampuk-Kaya 1

However, the remains of the floor were preserved. It was made in a solid way as it was laid with stone plates with bricks with the use of a lime mortar. Parts of the floor were preserved. The interesting thing is that in one of the naves they even found marble plates which were brought from somewhere and are quite expensive. The fragments of stone décor with carving, the remains of a choir screen and a capital from a column with carving, a toothed acanthus were also preserved. Only fragments of tiles remained from the roof. It is thought that the temple was built at the end of the 8th century or at the very beginning of the 9th century. However, the finds of carved stones can suggest that the temple was built for the first time as far back as in the 6th century or they used parts of the construction which was built in another place. The temple in Pampuk-Kaya was not just a place for prayers, but also for burials. In the niche-ossuary which was made in one of the galleries skeletons lay in four tiers. And at the very bottom, under the bones, they found a gold coin of the emperor Heraclius who ruled from 610 to 645 AD. Burial places were also found near the construction.

The remains of the building were found by O.I. Dombrovskyi in 1955 and were researched by A.L. Yakobson in 1961: Якобсон А. Л. Новый памятник раннесредневековой архитектуры в Крыму // КСИА АН СССР. — № 99. — 1964. — С. 65—72 (Yakobson A.L. The new monument of the early medieval architecture in the Crimea).

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Section 13. Tauris: life on the frontier The finds of crosses from excavations in the temple in Pampuk-Kaya Marks on tiles which were used to cover the roof of the temple

Life in the country Dori

They found crosses in burial places. They are different, among them there are those which were made by craftsmen in seaside cities and even in Kherson. And there are also crosses which were made by the local skillful craftsmen. One of them which was probably used in the temple is about 9 cm high; it is bent from a narrow iron strip in such a way so that its three ends have the form of loops and the lower one is intended for inserting into a support. From christening to death – all the life of the residents of ancient villages of Taurica, the country Dori was connected with the local Christian temples.

Life in the country Dori was rather severe and often unquiet. Near villages there were shelters which were built on forbidding rocks where in case of danger you could hide together with your belongings and domestic animals from another raid. Caves could also be used as temporary shelters. If people survived a raid, they could always rebuild their dwellings and sheds. Some shelters eventually turned into castles, the residence of the local elite. They didn’t lead a life of luxury in mountain villages. They seldom find broken amphorae for wine or oil, glass or irrigation vessels here. The finds of coins are also rare. However, they find molded ceramics. On the basis of this they conclude: the economy became purely natural here as it was supposed to be in the time of Middle Ages. They even molded pots themselves and didn’t buy them (or exchanged them). Seaside villages which are situated on the modern resort southern shore are another matter. Here the mentioned above finds (except for molded ceramics) are not rare; they also find other things which were received as the

Carved stone parts of the décor of the temple in Pampuk-Kaya

The remains of the floor which was laid with plates and bricks in the temple in Pampuk-Kaya

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The panorama of excavations of the temple in Pampuk-Kaya

Excavations of the remains of an ancient dwelling, Kyz-Kermen

result of trade. And the villages themselves are bigger and wealthier. It may mean that trade flourished here. You can get an idea about the local officials and elite from written sources and even ancient legends of Taurica. Big villages were probably under the direct control of the council of the elders and of course, with the participation of the local priest. I can’t but recall “protosses” – probably something like protevons of Chersonesits, probably heads

2

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The finds from excavations near the temple in PampukKaya

Now this event is dated by historians to the 14th century.

of smaller villages. The owners of big farmsteads which are situated separately (which are sometimes even fortified) are called by archeologists “timariots”, landowners who were obliged to serve in the armed forces of the empire, something like European knighthood. The mentions about such leaders as a toparch or an archon, commanders and rulers of the highest rank who belonged to the number of officials of the Byzantine administration in certain periods of the history of Taurica are connected with fortresses. Probably the territory of the country Dori in terms of the social structure didn’t differ greatly from an ordinary European country of that time. There were poor villages and settlements of fishermen, free and dependent grain growers, knights and monasteries, respected elite here; in other words, it was a developed social hierarchy which was quite sufficient for the establishment and successful development of their own independent state. So, the appearance of a small principality in these lands was just a matter of time and when an appropriate moment had come, it did appear, the state called Theodoro2.

Section 14

The people of the country Dori ncient documents don’t give a definite answer to the question who exactly inhabited the country Dori which at different times was part of the Byzantine territories, was independent, was under mutual control of the Byzantine Empire and Khazars. Probably these were the descendants of Tauri and Scythians and probably the descendants of Goths, Greeks or even Slavs. It seemed that it was not that difficult to determine it; they only had to find and excavate ancient burial grounds. And then the found things, funeral rites and finally anthropological data will give a definite answer at once. For the last century archeologists have found and excavated quite a lot of ancient graves. They appeared to be quite different in terms of construction and the set of finds not only didn’t clarify the situation, but aroused new discussions. Finally they determined that ancient graves sometimes describe the history of this region more accurately and objectively than chronicles and documents.

A

Crypts on the slopes of mountains Ancient burial grounds in the Crimea were found and are found in a different way. In former times they were found mostly during construction work or in open pits where stones were extracted. The Skalistenskyi burial ground which is famous for its jewelry was found on the territory of the Alma open pit of the trust “Krymstroydetal” as far back as in the Soviet times and was researched in 1959–19601. Sometimes only thanks to barely noticeable signs, for example, a gap in the ground, they managed to find ancient crypts; this is what happened on the slopes near the widely known “cave town” Chufut Kale, near Bakhchisaray. In the last decades, robbers who sell antiquities very often find

crypts first. Neither a rusty knife nor a silver ring can hide from sensitive metal detectors which are used by them even if they are situated at the depth of two meters. There are grounds to think that after a multi-year activity of such modern “lucky bastards” the chances of finding a burial ground in the Crimea (and not only there) which hasn’t been robbed tend to be zero. However, archeologists also rather often recorded the instances of robbing crypts and burial places as far back as in the ancient times.

The location of funeral monuments and ancient cities of Taurica which were mentioned in the section

1

In the form of a separate monograph the data about these excavations were published only in 1993: Е. В. Веймарн, А. И. Айбабин Скалистенский могильник. — К., 1993 (E.V. Veimarn, A.I. Aibabyn The Skalistenskyi burial ground).

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Excavations of the burial ground near Chufut Kale, the 1950s of the 20th century

In the mentioned above Skalistenskyi burial ground out of 794 found crypts only 10 appeared to be intact. About 300 more crypts were destroyed when working the quarry before the arrival of archeologists. All the crypts (except for one which was cut in the rock) were dug in dense clay. As a rule, they had a rectangular form in plan view. The area of the biggest ones amounted to from 7.5 to 8–9 m2 Vessels from burial places of the burial ground near Chufut Kale

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with the height of the ceiling of up to 1.5–2 m. More modest crypts resembled a catacomb with a deep entrance well. In some of them archeologists found niches–benches which were cut in the wall and were situated, as a rule, in front of the entrance. You could enter the crypt through an entrance corridor–dromos or a well. Such an entrance was usually covered with a stone plate on the surface. They also found stones and plates which could be monuments. On some of them crosses were carved; so, Christians were also among the buried here. The entrance to the crypt resembled a small window with the sizes usually not more than 0.4×0.6 m rather than a door. Sometimes they find a few buried men inside. They lie on the floor; sometimes the traces of a wooden platform are preserved. During excavations they find skeletons of people of different age. In one of the crypts anthropologists determined the remains of nine people. It turned out that the men who were buried here lived till the age of 40–60 (a rather venerable age for the early Middle Ages!); the age of the buried women was from 20 to 50. Sometimes they also find burial places of children. A lot has been written about the spreading of Christianity in Taurica, but the population who buried the dead in crypts remained loyal to the old traditions and supplied the dead not only with personal adornments, but also with food and drinks. They necessarily put not only a jug (which was, of course, not empty), but also vessels for drinking including glass vessels. True, part of vessels were molded by hand, but most of them were made on a potter’s wheel. The clothes of the buried were adorned with metal pendants; they found quite a lot of fasteners from belts including the ones for shoes. They went to the other world with adornments from simple glass or alabaster necklaces, bronze earrings to fanciful silver clasps, bracelets and big fibulas. The latter find suggests that the body of the owner was covered with a cloak.

Section 14. The people of the country Dori

Products of iron which were found during excavations of the burial ground near Chufut Kale

Clasps for belts which were found during excavations of burial grounds in the mountainous Crimea

Part of the things were found on the bones of the pelvis. Besides clasps and straps for a waist belt, they also find things which could be put in a small bag fastened to the waist here. And again they often find iron parts of knives near the waist; they were worn in a sheath. However, they almost didn’t supply the dead with money; in all the Skalistenskyi burial ground they found 12 bronze and 2 gold coins. The bronze coins were minted on the Bosporus, in Cherson and even in Constantinople. By the way, the find of bronze coins suggests a rather serious level of the development of commodity-money relations in Taurica of that time. True, some of such coins have openings; probably they were used as adornments and not with the purpose of further payment in a port tavern of Cherson or Aluston. They often find rings on phalanges of fingers; some of them have décor which resembles monograms. In those times “name” rings were popular. On some of them the image of the cross is engraved. Near skulls there are earrings and temple rings. The finds of amber necklaces are rather numerous. It is interesting to imagine the way which all these adornments covered together with traders from the places of the production of “the sun stone”. Who knows, maybe these necklaces were brought by distant ancestors who a few centuries ago covered the way full of dangers from Gotiskandza to distant Scythia? A bronze clasp which was made by a Byzantine craftsman. The Skalistenskyi burial ground

The finds of weapons are rare. Several dead men have bows in their graves; stone straps remained from them. There are finds of iron points for arrows. The blades of swords and broadswords got very rusty. However, there aren’t too many of such finds; evidently in those turbulent times the weapons were more necessary for the living. The good thing is that quite a lot of ancient burial grounds were researched by experts, thanks to which they managed to receive a lot of unique data regarding the early medieval history of Taurica.

Who ordered “eagle head” clasps from jewelers? It’s worth saying that it is quite difficult to paint a full picture, basing on the collected materials. Besides, this work would still require quite a lot of time. Since it is necessary not only to record, to restore and to determine the cultural belonging, but also to date the finds. In order to determine when exactly a certain thing was made, first it is necessary to find a similar thing in dated complexes (for example, coins). Sometimes more than one decade passes from the start of the excavations of some ancient necropolis to the end of such work. Among the finds in A silver “eagle ancient burial grounds special head” clasp from attention is given to products the Skalistenskyi burial ground, the which were once part of 7th century parade belts or fasteners for cloaks–fibulas. Some types of clasps even received their own name “eagle head”. Their more exact name which is adopted by archeologists is “the clasp with an eagle head shield”. These products really end with an image of the head of this bird of prey.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus A fragment of the “eagle head” clasp from the Skalistenskyi burial ground, the 7th century

As a rule, they are made of silver. Their sizes are sometimes rather big. Thus a product from crypt 420 of the Skalistenskyi necropolis was as long as 18 cm. However, the width of the belt (the remains of leather were preserved) was not small either, about 7 cm. Actually, there are two eagle heads on the clasp. One head “grows” from the rectangular shield which is adorned with insertions of small stones. The second bird is the tongue of the clasp which is also rather massive and with insertionssmall eyes. The clasp is cast in a form and then holders for insertions are soldered to it. This masterpiece of jewelry is dated to the A silver fibula, the 6th (or the 5th–the 6th) Skalistenskyi burial ground century. Together with the described above clasp they found a big fibula which is also made of silver on the bones of the dead man. It was as long as 22.7 cm. Similar fibulas are found in Gothic burial places all over Europe. Another clasp which was found in the same burial ground didn’t have such a beautiful eagle head, but it had as many as three images of birds. One of them was a massive fastener-tongue with eyes cast in silver. And two more birds were situated on the shield of the clasp above and below. These are also birds of prey with rather big beaks which resemble ravens rather than eagles. This is a whole scene which is probably connected with ancient mythology as the raven is the bird of god Odin. In the center of the shield there is a crossshaped rosette with colored incrustation. This product was not smaller than the first clasp which was described by us. Who made all these beautiful things? Researchers

Silver bracelets and fibulas from the Skalistenskyi burial ground, the 7th century

think that in the 7th century the center of their production was situated on the Bosporus. And it is not surprising; the city had a long tradition of producing adornments of gold and silver, especially for barbarians. Already Scythian rulers ordered quite a lot of precious things here. Fashion changed, customers changed, but jewelers of the Bosporus knew how to please everybody. Some of the clasps were made in the Byzantine style, probably in Cherson. It only remained to determine who ordered these beautiful things. Of course, it would hardly be possible to determine the exact list of names, but we can try to determine at least the tribal belonging. Since the “bird” symbols look rather typical. For instance, if you look at the page of the catalogue of the archeological exhibition called “Goths” which was organized in the city of Milan in 1994, you can find quite a lot of products there which are adorned with eagle heads that resemble the Crimean finds to a considerable extent. The area of their spreading is rather considerable, from Central Europe to Spain! The dating is from the 5th to the 7th century. The authors of the catalogue don’t doubt that these products belonged to Goths. By the way, there are also Crimean finds in this catalogue. On pages 129-131 you can find the description of one of the complexes with the eagle head clasp which was excavated in Eski-Kermen. In the summary the ethnic attribution is the following: “GothsAlans”. Probably it should be understood in such a way that such a clasp could be worn in Taurica by both Goths and Alans. By the way, the drawing of a grave with a typical for Alan traditions lining is given on page 130. True, this section has the common name “Goths in the Crimea (the 5th–the7th century)”. On the other hand, in some domestic catalogues you can find another definition near similar antiquities, “Alans”. A silver clasp. The Skalistenskyi burial ground, the 7th century

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In search of the owners As you can see, a certain diversity in funeral customs, instruments and the layout of graves is observed. Researchers approached the interpretation of these data in a different way2. Some scientists thought that the ethnic belonging of the dead man must be determined on the basis of “characteristic types of things”, first of all, on the basis of adornments. For example, in a burial place there is “an eagle head clasp” and fibulas, adornments which are inlaid with colorful stones; so, it means that this is a Gothic burial place. However, the things which are made in “a polychrome style” are also The point of a belt and found in graves of nomads; a mirror which were for instance, Huns also found during excavations of burial respected this style a lot. grounds in the And what if they find, mountainous Crimea for instance, a grey-clay vessel and a bronze mirror? It means that this is an Alan burial place for sure. But what should we do if a dead man received as funeral gifts an eagle head clasp, a Gothic fibula and a mirror at the same time? The good thing is that at least if they found an amphora with wine in a grave, nobody made conclusions about the belonging of the dead man to the residents of the area where this wine (this amphora) was made. Or they didn’t try to determine the ethnic belonging of the dead man, basing on the type of a glass cup which had been put into his grave. The next important sign is the type of a grave. If this is a pit with a lining or a crypt, then this burial place should be considered to be Alan. However, crypts were also used by the residents of antique poleis and Hellenes, for instance. And if a dead A jug with painting. The Skalistenskyi burial ground, the 7th–the 8th century 2

Glass cups, the Skalistenskyi burial ground

man was burnt, then this is clearly a Gothic burial place. However, cremation was also typical for funeral traditions of nomads (Huns, Bulgars and others), to say nothing about Slavs. It turned out that sometimes it was impossible to arrange graves in orderly pigeonholes, to be more exact to divide the found graves into Gothic, Alan and others. As a result, by the way, there appeared a term which seems strange at first sight: “Alan-Goths”. The picture became a little clearer when they managed to divide the burial places, basing on a certain period of time. For example, dead men were buried in the Skalistenskyi burial ground, if we take into account the dating of the finds, from the end of the 4th to the 9th century inclusive for almost five hundred years! And the construction of crypts and the funeral rite didn’t change to a considerable extent. And this is despite the fact that starting with the 6th century Christianity began its spreading in these lands; at least they found things with Christian symbols there. It turned out that all the events which were described by ancient authors one way or another were reflected in funeral rites of the population of mountainous Taurica. Burial grounds with cremation, typical vessels and adornments of the Chernyakhiv culture are material evidence of the incursion of Goths into the Crimea in the 3rd century. Next to them there are late Sarmatian burial grounds where there is no cremation.

The issue of the determination of the ethnic belonging of the early medieval necropolises on the territory of the Crimea has a long history; you can find more details in: А. И. Айбабин. Этническая принадлежность могильников Крыма IV — первой половины VII в. н. э. // Материалы к этнической истории Крыма. — К., 1987 (A.I. Aibabin. The ethnic belonging of burial grounds of the Crimea of the 4th –the first half of the 7th century AD).

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Clasps for belts from the Skalistenskyi burial ground, the 7th century

Actually, Goths and Sarmatians-Alans coexisted in the Crimea for quite a long time, for a few centuries. It is another matter to what extent this coexistence was peaceful. Then, at the end of the 4th – at the beginning of the 5th century Huns appear in the steppes and former rulers relocate their villages (and burial grounds) deep in the mountainous territory. And the traces of the new rulers of the steppes (and almost all the peninsula) represent a plural and “polychrome” style. In the 6th–the 7th century Turks and Bulgars appear in the Crimea and in the 8th century a new wave of Alans comes. The subjects of the Khazar khagan which were forced out by Pechenegs – all of them sooner or later supplement the ethnographic nature reserve in the mountains of Taurica which is called “the region of Dori”. Those who couldn’t remain the rulers of the steppes and had no place for roaming became herdsmen, grain growers among forbidding mountains or fishermen, winegrowers on the southern shore. In the first half of the 20th century ethnographers who visited mountainous regions were sometimes surprised by the appearance of buildings of the local Tatars. Sure thing, since the roof of these constructions was made on the pattern of buildings which are typical for the North of Europe. This is how the Gothic heritage outlasted Crimean Gothia for a few centuries.

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Anthropologists who in the 20th century studied the local population also found the traces of ancient migrations in these lands. The research of skulls from early medieval burial places had the same result. Their analogs were found not only in the Crimea, but also sometimes far from its boundaries, from Middle Dnieper area to the basin of the Siversky Donets. One of the conclusions which was made by archeologists who studied all the findings consisted in the fact that none of the conquerors ever managed to completely annihilate the previous residents. Some time passed, the victors and the defeated appeared to be the residents of the same or neighboring villages, then they became relatives and then all of them became subjects of a state which for some time was established in Taurica or in one of its parts.

The plan and the section of the catacomb with a burial place of the 7th century and the finds from it. Eski-Kermen

Section 15

Bulgaria in the Pontic steppes he ancient history of the modern European country Bulgaria is rather closely connected with the steppes of the Land. Many centuries ago a numerous people roamed here; its rulers traced their lineage back to Attila himself, the powerful ruler of Huns. This people was well known to the authors of ancient chronicles, first of all to Byzantine ones, under the name of Bulgars. Part of Bulgars at the end of the 7th century moved to the borders of the empire on the Danube. For some time the steppes of the Land were included into the boundaries of the new, rather powerful state. Other Bulgars settled down on the Volga, some of them even settled down in the Crimea. Not only ancient chronicles, but also treasures and legends are connected with the stay of Bulgars in the Pontic steppes. As it often happens in such situations, there are diverse versions connected with the belonging of these or those antiquities to a certain people or a great ruler. The same thing happened to one of the wealthiest treasures which have been found on the territory of the Land.

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A monument in the forest in the Poltava region

they used not Cyrillic script which was brought into use only in the 9th century, but Turkic runes. It is known from history that khan Kubrat (or Kurt) is a ruler who united a lot of tribes and clans of nomads into the common alliance and it happened in the first half of the 7th century. This alliance is known under the name “Bulgars” and in Byzantine documents it is known as “Bulgarians”. In order to distinguish ancient residents of the Pontic steppes

Not far from the village of Mala Pereshchepyna of the Novi Sanzhary district of the Poltava region, you can see a small stone plate surrounded by young pines which were planted on the sand a few decades ago. On the black polished surface there is a carved symbol which is similar to a certain extent to the letter ІYІ. This is a tamga, a clannish mark of the rulers of an ancient state which included, as they think, more than one third of the territories of the Land in ancient times. The following inscription is carved under the tamga: “United we stand” and below is “Great Kubrat” and the date: the 6th–the 7th century AD. and then an inscription: “The ruler of Old Great Bulgaria was appointed by God”. All the parts of the inscription were carved in Cyrillic script and in Slavic languages: in Ukrainian and Bulgarian. However, in the times which are indicated in the inscription the Bulgarian language greatly differed from the The location of the find near the village of Mala present one and there was no Pereshchepyna (modern view) and the monument Slavic language for sure. And in in honor of khan Kubrat. Below are gold vessels from “the treasure” order to write down its words

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus union which is known under the name “Great from Bulgarians of later times historians also use Bulgaria” the capital of which was the city of the name “Proto-Bulgarians”. Phanagoria on the Taman Peninsula. It is thought that Huns, moving from the East, There are records that the first ruler of this took with them a certain part of nomads from Zavolstate was Gastun of the Ermi clan. True, some zhye who bore the ethnicon “Bulgars” or “Bulgaresearchers think that Gastun is a Slavic name and rians”. Probably these Bulgars managed to take part that this person was just a deputy of the Avar ruler in campaigns of Huns to the Balkans and already at and was actually descended from Antes or Sclaveni. the end of the 5th century they fought on the side of the However, he managed to occupy this position for as empire against Huns. Then they started disturbing the little as two years. He is replaced by khan Kubrat territories of their former employers. The attacks of the Dulo clan, the ruler of Unogundurs, who were so destructive that the emperor Anastasius I A tamga of headed the anti-Avar revolt. If Gastun was really approximately in 512 AD had to start building “the khan Kubrat an Avar placeman, then his disappearance from long walls” for the protection of Constantinople. the political scene is quite natural and clear. During the reign of Justinianus I the conflicting Khan Kubrat lived quite a long life as compared to a parties reached complete understanding and Bulgars providruler’s life and historians and archeologists still argue about ed the bellicose emperor with a big detachment which was some of the details of his life. According to the list of included into the troops of the famous commander BeliBulgarian khans he ruled for 60 years (?) and died during the sarius; by the way, he took part in the liberation of distant reign of the Byzantine emperor Constantine II, to be more Italy from Gothic invaders shoulder to shoulder with Antes. exact within the period from 641 to 668 AD. Thus Kubrat’s The compatriots of Bulgars who stayed in the East accession to power corresponds to the first decades of the 7th approximately in the middle of the 6th century appeared under the control of the Turkic khaganate the territories of century. Byzantine sources inform that as a boy, the khan was which sometimes included the lands from the borders of raised in Constantinople and was even christened. As a China to the steppes of Taurica. Those Bulgars who had reward for forcing out Avars, the emperor Heraclius sent him roamed in the steppes of the Land as far back as in the gifts and even conferred the title of patrician. It was advantatimes of Atilla also appeared under the control of this khageous for the Byzantine Empire to have a loyal ruler who ganate. It is clear that such huge states didn’t exist for long reigned in the Pontic steppes since they could easily come to in ancient times as later they were divided into smaller an agreement with him and receive (for an appropriate payparts. At such a moment groups of Bulgars moved within ment) support in the fight with other neighbors-barbarians. the boundaries of the former nomadic empire at their disPart of the descendants of Kubrat settled down in cretion. Approximately in 630 AD Bulgars who were Danube area later. They didn’t really respect the former roaming in Sea of Azov area at that time created their own agreements with the Byzantine Empire, increasing the territory of their state at the expense of their neighbors-Romei and Slavs. This is how a few centuries passed and they started calling Bulgars as Bulgarians more and more often. They became Christians and now the Balkan mostly mountainous country Bulgaria is considered to be quite Slavic. However, its residents cherish the memory of their ancient history including the memory of khan Kubrat. The appearance of the described above monument is a tribute of respect to ancient ancestors. But why was the monument put up not in the boundless Sea of Azov area steppes, even not in the place of Phanagoria, the former capital of Great Bulgaria, but in the Poltava forests? The reason for that was a find which was discovered about one century ago. It seemed that it confirmed the records from ancient documents in many respects; moreover, it added a few details to the facts which had The location of the Pereshchepyna treasure and the movements of Bulgars in the 7th century been known before.

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The Pereshchepyna Treasure – the treasure of khan Kubrat?

A gold vessel from the Pereshchepyna “treasure”

migration of peoples who A lot of things are known about the treasure; there belonged to different tribal unions, are even records about the date of this find – 29 May 1912. including the Bulgar one. The Thus soon there will be a one hundred year anniversary of funeral rite was especially magnifithe Mala Pereshchepyna treasure. This was a real treasure cent and complex if a ruler was if we take into account the weight of silver products (about buried. According to the ancient 50 kg) and gold products (about 25 kg). A more accurate tradition, the jewelry including weight of the found (and gathered) things is known to the one which was acquired by a museum workers of Russia as most of the finds are now few generations of the ancestors kept in Saint-Petersburg, in the State Hermitage Museum. was supposed to go together True, one hundred years ago this museum was called with him to the other world. imperial and the fact that it is there that the ancient treasThe Pereshchepyna “treaures eventually appeared is quite symbolic. Since their forsures” were a collection of things mer owner was also a ruler of a big (according to the stanwhich had been made in difdards of that time) state. ferent countries at differArcheologists have visited the ent times. These treasplace of the find more than once and ures included gold and silin 1963 they even made a few ver vessels which had been made by prospect holes with the purpose of craftsmen in the cities of the determining the circumstances of Byzantine Empire, in the Caucasus finding the antiquities and if they and even in distant Persia. Sets for were lucky, even of finding somebelts which were made by skilled thing else. However, they managed craftsmen of different countries includto receive the most precious thing, to ing the local ones. Coins which were be more exact information, from the minted in Constantinople lay next to silver local residents, the witnesses of how and stirrups and gold adornments for the saddle. what was found in distant 1912. It turned out A bracelet with an There were things which could be bought at that besides gold and silver they also found Ural emerald. The Pereshchepyna the market or ordered from a craftsman if preburnt human bones (including parts of the “treasure” ferred. However, a considerable part of the skull), wood and even the remains of rotted things could be got only as diplomatic gifts. cloth. Experts think that in reality on that May There were also things which the new owner could get as day they found not a treasure, but a very wealthy ancient military trophies. burial place. In their opinion, rotted wood, cloth, some Experts studied the finds carefully. It turned out that gold plates could as well be the remains of a luxurious sarsome things have a very interesting history; the circumcophagus where the ashes of an ancient ruler were buried. stances under which they could be concentrated in the The custom to burn a dead man and treasure of a great ruler may be equally interesting. First of then to bury the remains of the all, they managed to determine that these things had been cremation together with difmade at different times for almost two hundred years. They ferent things was were made by jewelers from different countries – the typical for Byzantine Empire, Iran, by craftsmen from Sogdiana and nomads of the from the boundaries of the Turkic khaganate. times of the great The most ancient things – part of the vessels of the Byzantine origin of gold and silver – could be dated to the times of the reign of the Gold vessels from the Pereshchepyna emperor Anastasius I “treasure” (491–518 AD) and Justinianus I (527– 565 AD). Besides, in the 6th century A gold clasp from the Pereshchepyna “treasure”, probably an imperial gift

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus An impression of one of the rings of the Pereshchepyna “treasure”

and at the beginning of the 7th century gold solidi of the emperors Mauricius and Phocas were minted. Such finds as a belt (a massive gold clasp and a point from the belt remained from it), Rings with bracelets, rings and also a silver monograms. The dish with a cross and, of course, Pereshchepyna gold coins are dated to the time of “treasure” the reign of the emperor Heraclius, the patron of khan Kubrat. In some coins there are holes; so, they were used as pendants. The latest coins from the complex were issued during the reign of the emperor Constantine II between 642–646 AD. In fact, the so-called “light solidi” with the weight of only 3.56 gm (a clear deviation from the Byzantine standard) were minted as far back as in the times of Justinianus I. They were used for settlements with allies solely beyond the boundaries of the Empire. Among the finds there are 10 sets for belts in which the most important thing is missing, clasps. It means that it was no longer possible to use the belts according to their Gold straps, adornments for the saddle. The Pereshchepyna “treasure”

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Silver stirrups. The Pereshchepyna “treasure”

intended purpose. It is explained by the attempt to “render the dead man harmless”, having prevented him from using the sword belt and this way the weapon itself. According to another version, clasps were not supposed to be buried due to the fact that they could be transmitted as heritage to relatives. Probably only his own clasp could belong to the dead man. Such things as rings with monograms, a belt with a gold clasp, in the opinion of researchers, could be received solely as gifts together with an appropriate title (in this case the title of patrician) from the emperor himself. It is known from the mentioned above sources that such homage was rendered to khan Kubrat himself and to his uncle, Organa. At the beginning of the 1980s of the 20th century there were experts who made a conclusion concerning the belonging of the things which had been found near the village of Mala Pereshchepyna to khan Kubrat who had received his uncle’s treasures as heritage as well1. Even monograms on rings were read: XOBPATOY ΠATPIKIOY (Hovrat or Kubrat Patrician and also BATOPXAIOY ΠATPIKIOY — Bat Orhana Patrician.

“United we stand” An inscription about the unity on the stele to the treasure doesn’t seem to be directly connected with it. However, it is connected with one of the legends about khan Kubrat. This is a didactic legend; you can find it in the folklore of many peoples. However, as far as the khan and his descendants are concerned, probably it came true for all 100%. This story is so popular that it inspired more than one painter to create an epic canvas. Here is one of them: a gray old ruler is standing, leaning on a staff. Around him there are five sons dressed in wealthy clothes and with weapons. And in front of the father, on the table there are a few dozens of branches. Now he is about to offer his sons to try to break a separate

For the first time the book about this discovery was published in Germany in 1884: Werner J. Der Grabfund von Malaja Perescepina und Kuvrat, Kagan der Bulgaren. — Munchen, 1984.

Section 15. Bulgaria in the Pontic steppes

Khan Kubrat with his sons

branch first. And they will do it without any problem. However, none of them will be able to break all the branches at the same time. According to another version, on the table there was not brushwood, but a bunch of darts or even spears. According to the legend, this is how the presentation of the slogan “United we stand” which was carved on the stone was carried out; this slogan became the political last will of the old khan. As it often happens with such last wills, descendants find plenty of reasons which make it non-obligatory for fulfilling. The successors of khan Kubrat did the same thing. Of course, they did it due to certain circumstances. Some scientists think that in reality there were only two sons Batbayan and Asparuh, but they didn’t manage to come to an agreement. Part of Bulgars together with khan Batbayan (or Bayan) stayed in the same place and because of their small numerical force they were conquered by Khazars. As a result of the offensive of Khazars from the East part of Bulgars (headed by khan Asparuh) went to the West. First they settled down in the interfluve of the Dniester and the Danube and then in 679–680 AD they went farther. However, some of the nomads (and not only them) stayed to live in the interfluve; later this territory and also part of the steppes, farther in the East, would be included into the state which was called Bulgaria. But its center will be finally relocated to the Balkans where nomads and Slavs by common effort (and here the slogan of khan Kubrat worked for all 100% again) gained recognition and even tribute on the part of the Byzantine Empire.

Gold vessels from the Pereshchepyna “treasure”

The youngest son of Kubrat, Alcek, went the farthest in the West. With a small number of Bulgars he reached the north of Italy where he served the king of Lombards.

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Adornments and fragments of belt sets from the Pereshchepyna “treasure”

Great Bulgaria or Khazaria?

Only Bulgaria on the distant Volga managed to hold out and lived here till the coming of the next fearless conquerors in the 13th century, but this is another story. And the memory of the Bulgar unity still lives. By the way, the Pereshchepyna treasure occupies a special place in this story. In December of 2006 the minister for foreign affairs of Bulgaria Ivaylo Kalfin gave a copy of the sword of khan Kubrat which was made on the pattern from the Pereshchepyna “treasure” to the president of the republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev. Since present Tatarstan in the Russian Federation is to a certain extent the successor of that very Volga Bulgaria which was founded many centuries ago by one of the descendants of khan Kubrat. Part of Bulgars, as the findings of archeological researches show, found shelter in the mountainous Crimea, having replenished the population of the country Dori. They lost not only their state, but even their own name.

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However, the story about these antiquities didn’t end after the construction of a monument in the place of the find, the exposition of the Pereshchepyna treasures in Sofia and even after publishing a few books. The version about the belonging of the Pereshchepyna complex to khan Kubrat which is rather popular even among experts was called in question. This is exactly the case when great attention to some details which might seem small at first sight can cast doubt on even an “established” and very convenient, at first sight, theory. It turned out that the word combination “Great Bulgaria” which can be read on the monument to the khan and which has become commonplace in historical works can be a result of… a not very accurate translation of ancient texts2. Indeed, there is a variant of the translation of the Greek original (which describes the location of the country inhabited by Bulgars): “From this very lake [Maiotis] near the river which is called Kufis where they catch the Bulgar fish ksiston stretches ancient Bulgaria which is big (or spacious)”. “Large”, “spacious”, but in no way “Great” in the sense of state greatness or might

Silver dishes with Christian symbols. The Pereshchepyna “treasure”

You can find more details about it in the article: V. Komar. Early Khazars in Northern Black Sea region //http://archaeology.kiev.ua/journal/030500/komar.htm

Section 15. Bulgaria in the Pontic steppes A silver dish with the image of a scene of hunting. Parade vessels of the Iranian King of Kings. The Pereshchepyna “treasure”

A single blade sword in a sheath with rich adornment with gold. The Pereshchepyna “treasure”

since the context of the record shows that we are speaking about a country and not about a state. In another place the territory is called “the first Bulgaria” (BDfJ0H #@L8(αD\αH) and again it is not “Great”. The monograms on the Pereshchepyna rings can also be read in a different way. They are written according to certain Silver vessels and a mark at the bottom of one of the jugs. The Pereshchepyna “treasure”

rules that’s why they become clear when and only when you can correctly determine the initial letter of the inscription. It turns out that instead of XOBPATOY ΠATPIKIOY or BATOPXAIOY ΠATPIKIOY you can get something like ΘEΛEΠXAPOY. The variant BPOXOY ΠK, BOPAXOY ΠK and even BΓOPAXOY ΠK is equally probable; and ΠK mustn’t necessarily be read as “patrician”. Besides, the idea connected with giving the khan a dish with Christian symbols also aroused doubt. It is known that objects of the Christian cult can belong to a temple, can be donated for the needs of a temple, but not vice-versa. The presence of a dish with the image of a scene of hunting of shah Shapur II and also a jug and two gold cups which had been made in distant Iran among the treasures also arouses questions. Such things can’t be bought for money or can’t be ordered; they can’t be received even as diplomatic gifts. Since we are speaking about the things which were made especially for the King of Kings. They can be acquired, only having captured the treasures of the ruler of Iran. Such a rare event really took place in 628 AD, to be more exact during a long war of the emperor Heraclius. Then they captured not only the capital Ctesiphon, but also the residence of the great King of Kings of Eran and Aneran Khosrau II Parvez (a caustic jest of the fate: “Parvez” can also be translated as “Victorious”). So, Bulgars, as the allies of Byzantines, are not mentioned among the participants of the war. And it is quite clear: it is clear since as far back as in 626 AD their detachments as part of the Avar army took part in the siege of Constantinople at the same time when the Iranian troops were

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus already on the Azov shore of the Bosporus. Khan Kubrat came to power a few years later after these events and didn’t manage to take part in the victorious war with Persia. At the same time one of the Byzantine authors mentions that the emperor Heraclius gave the shah’s vessels to the commander of their allies – Turks. Other sources inform that we are speaking about Khazars; an alliance with them was concluded as far back as in 627 AD. In the Caucasus the “allies” managed to rob quite a lot of churches on the territory of Armenia and Georgia; there are mentions about it in historical sources. So, a unique combination of Iranian parade vessels and church utensils in one set can as well be explained in such a way. The solidi of the emperor Constantine II (let us remind you, we are speaking about the years of 642–646 AD) were also minted at a rather interesting moment of the Byzantine history. The thing is that after (as a result of) long wars in the lands of Iran a new reality in which Arabs became the main enemies of the Empire appeared for the Byzantine Empire (and Khazaria!). They directed their campaigns to the territories of Khazars. And it happened exactly in the 40s of the 7th century. You couldn’t but remember about the former victorious alliance! Nothing improves memory (and relations) as well as gifts which were given in time. Not only the sup-

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A gold cup. The Pereshchepyna “treasure”

plies of “special solidi”, but also symbolic gifts were used. Among them were a luxurious sword in a cold sheath which was made by Byzantine craftsmen and also an appropriate belt and a gold rhyton. This is a complete set of things which must be given to a potential ally on the eve of a decisive war. So, the rulers of Khazars with the rank of not less than a khagan could be as well the owners of the Pereshchepyna “treasures”. The fact that among the finds there are things which are dated to the beginning of the 8th century can suggest that some of the descendants of the victors of Persians, the ally of the Byzantine Empire in the wars with the Arab caliphate could be buried here. Since the wars with Arabs were first relatively successful for the rulers of Khazaria, they relocated their headquarters to the South, nearer to the Caucasus. And in the Poltava region there remained a burial place which reminded of the initial stage of the history of Khazars (and their state) that was disregarded by ancient chroniclers. One of the results of the campaign of Khazars to the steppes of the Land was the retreat of part of Bulgars headed by the son of khan Kubrat, Asparuh, beyond the Danube.

Section 16

Sclavenian antiquities he next tribe after Antes which appears on the pages of ancient chronicles is Sclaveni. The traces of their activities were found on a vast territory. The name of their appropriate archeological culture connects two present European countries Czechia and Ukraine, to be more exact the capital of Czechia Prague and the village in Ukraine which is called Korchak. In both cases Ukrainians are connected with the discoveries – the Prague culture was discovered by Ivan Borkovskyi and the Korchak culture was discovered by Serhiy Hamchenko. Then the two names were united and now we have the Prague-Korchak culture, but lately the simplified name “the Prague culture” has been met in scientific works more and more often. Researchers think that the Prague culture was formed on the territory of the Land and the path of its bearers to Europe started from there. Villages and ancient settlements, ancient burial grounds were discovered and researched in the forests of Volhynia, on the Dniester and on the Dnieper. This is where Sclaveni lived before they went to the banks of the Danube and the Elbe and to the North.

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From the Dnieper to the Elbe The Prague culture is connected by archeologists with Sclaveni (Slavs) of ancient chronicles. Since the territory of its spreading in general corresponds to the areas in which they are mentioned in these works. And this is not less not more than the complete or partial territory of such modern states as Austria, Belarus, Hungary, Germany, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Czechia and Ukraine1. Since the times of the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age there have been quite few examples in Europe when the same archeological culture (even if it was represented in different variants) was spread on such a vast territory. Now more than 500 setlements and cemeteries of the Prague culture one-third of which (including the most ancient ones) were found on the territory of Ukraine have been known. Probably the most important “visit

card” of this archeological complex is ceramics. High, prolate pots with brims which are bent outside or almost straight, which are made by hand or sometimes on a potter’s wheel, with a wavy drawn ornament with some variations are repeated everywhere.

The map of the spreading of ceramics of the Prague culture in the 5th–the 7th century 1

An interesting overview of the Slavic world of Europe (mostly based on the materials of archeological researches) is given in the book: B. Chropovsky. Die Slaven. Historische, politische und kulturelle Entwicklung und Bedeutung. — Praga, 1988.

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The ceramics of the Prague culture from Dnister area Pots of “the Prague type” from excavations on the territory of Slovakia

These pots were used to make cooked cereal on the Dnieper and on the Prypiat, on the Dniester and on the Danube, on the Vistula and on the Elbe.The stoves into which these pots were put were also similar, only of two types – the ones which were built of stone and where there were no stones, the ones which were cut out of clay. Sometimes they were replaced with an open hearth. The dwellings were similar in the same way. Archeologists study only what remained from them – a shallow foundation pit with the average size of 4×4 or 5×5 meters. In the middle of the foundation pit there is a hearth or a stove, a few pits for posts which supported the walls or underset the roof, fragments of broken pots and some of the things of the owners which had been lost once. You can notice at once that the hosts didn’t expect to stay in one place for a long time. The walls of buildings were made of trunks of trees and the chinks were stuck with

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clay. By the way, it was the parameters of wooden constructions that determined the mentioned above sizes of dwellings. And also the fact that a family was probably not very big. In order to cover the roof they used planks, thatch or rush. There were also dwellings which were more deepened in the ground, dugouts. Here the roof could be earthy; it is easier this way and it is perfect camouflage. They needed a massive stove in order to preserve heat better. Palaeoclimatologists say that the climate in the first decade of the 6th century (on the whole planet and not only in Pots of “the Prague type” from excavations on the territory of Czechia

Section 16. Sclavenian antiquities

Reconstruction of buildings from the settlement Rashkiv-III (according to V.D. Baran)

Europe) was rather cold. Were these cold (and thus hungry years) one of the reasons for the great settlement of Slavs? They made a wooden floor (sometimes it was made of well-compressed clay) and wooden benches for sleeping in a construction. They found the remains of tables and even of benches for sitting. Relatives built dwellings next to one another that’s why they could use the same hutches for storing supplies. These hutches had a very simple construction: a deep pit with walls which were coated with clay above which they built some shelter so that snow or rain didn’t get there. Such an “elevator” was simple and relatively reliable.

Everyday life Written sources and especially the results of archeological excavations make it possible to describe the everyday life and the way of life of Slavs in detail2. In the opinion of their more educated neighbors, the clothes they wore and the food they ate were rather simple and without any luxury. Their costume greatly differed from the clothes which the residents of the South usually wore and it combined the traditions of past epochs, starting almost from the Scythian times. The clothes were sewed from homespun flax. Their trousers which were inherited by them from Scythians or Sarmatians proved to be very good in the conditions of life among impenetrable forests and in mountains. The trousers were supplemented with a shirt which could be adorned with embroidery (at that time this custom was spread among many peoples from North Africa to Scandinavia) and fastened with a belt. Women wore long chemises.

The elite and military men also adopted belts which were adorned with removable metal adornments and fanciful clasps from nomads. Ordinary people used cloth belts the colors and patterns of which were a visit card of a certain clan and tribe. Such belts were worn not only by Slavs, but also by neighboring Baltic tribes; after all they were relatives, although quite distant ones at that time. In a cold season they put on cloaks which could be made of warmer cloth. Just like among Antes, fingershaped fibulas-fasteners were spread among them. Hunting in forests which were wild at that time could provide them with good fur clothes (and hats). Their neighbors, Varangians and nomads, probably highly estimated Slavs' winter costumes when they established tribute in the form of fur. Footwear which was woven from plant fibers was called bast shoes; they were probably worn by the majority of the population. But it doesn’t mean that they were not familiar with leather footwear. Taking into account the humidity of that region, they were sometimes

Fibulas which were found during excavations of Slavic monuments on the territory of Transylvania

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Recently a book on this subject (it was published for the first time in Prague as far back as in 1924) has been republished in Uzhhorod: Любор Нидерле. Бытъ и культура древнихъ славянъ. — Ужгород, 2007 (Lyubor Nyderle. The way of life and the culture of ancient Slavs).

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The reconstruction festival “Svatobor–2008”: Slavic warriors on the background of a Celtic village which was rebuilt in accordance with the data of archeological excavations (Czechia)

There were also a lot of places for pasturing cattle; the villages were surrounded with meadows and forests. They bred a lot of big horned cattle and pigs. They bred horses, but usually they didn’t use them as food. Byzantine strategists also wrote that Slavs had a lot of cattle and gave recommendations to carry out plundering raids on the territories of the potential enemy in a proper way. A considerable part of meat was received during hunting. They hunted, first of all, big animals such as a moose, a deer and a wild boar. In many settlements the number of bones of wild animals exceed the number of bones of domestic animals. They also ate fish. Fish hooks which were found during excavations suggest a big size of the caught fish. Craftsmen who made all the necessary things of iron from cultivator points and sickles to knives and hooks supplied the residents with instruments. They received iron from bog iron ore with the help of bloomeries, just like their neighbors-Antes. In all the settlements they found the remains of blooms or slag which was formed during metal melting. The same skilled craftsmen could forge points of arrows, spears and darts, parts of the military equipage and a horse harness. The finds of casting forms and jewelry instruments show the abilities of Slavic craftsmen in this field. They didn’t create masterpieces like eagle head clasps made by Bosporus skilled craftsmen or delicate prodReconstruction of part of an early Slavic dwelling in the exposition ucts of Chersonesits, but they established of the archeological museum in Lviv

indispensable, just like at war. And again bast shoes didn’t suit the elite and military men. Grain growing, animal husbandry, hunting and fishing were daily bread for the majority of Slavs. They plowed fields by harnessing horses. Iron cultivator points were found. The impressions of cereals on ceramics allowed determining that just like in old good times they grew glumaceous wheat, millet, barley and rye. The latter prevailed among migrants who settled down further to the North. Such a set of cultures allowed good hosts to make cooked cereal, to bake bread and even to brew beer. And also they could maintain the change of crop, at least a two-field rotation of crops; although, there were still enough free lands.

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Section 16. Sclavenian antiquities production of bracelets, simple women's adornments which were sometimes made on the fashionable import patterns. The exchange of goods was carried out in a “natural” way. The coins, mostly Roman ones, which had spread on the territory of the Land as far back as in the Chernyakhiv culture quickly disappeared from circulation. All silver which fell into the hands of Slavs was most likely used for melting in order to make the necessary minimum of products – clasps, pendants, temporal rings and other small adornments. Probably they used fur, grain, cattle as “money”, just like in ancient times. However, they didn’t find any amphorae from wine; it seems that in the 6th–the 7th century Slavs started drinking other beverages which were more affordable in those lands.

The stronghold near the village of Zymne Archeologists managed to find and study not only villages, but also ancient settlements of the Slavs of that time. For now quite a few of them are known and several of them have been excavated. The Zymne ancient settlement in the Volhynia region is the most famous among those which are situated on the territory of the Land3. Its excavations allowed finding out some details from the life of Slavic tribes which were not reflected in Byzantine sources. And it is not surprising as this fortress is situated a lot of hundred kilometers to the North of the Danube borders of the Empire.

The location of the ancient settlement near Zymne and the settlement Rashkiv-III on the Dniester 3

The section of the rampart of the Zymne ancient settlement; the excavations of 1962

The conducted researches showed that for the first time people settled down in this part of the forest plateau which rises over the valley of the river Luga by 15 meters as far back as in the Copper Age, in the 4th century BC. The villages which had been built by the bearers of three different archeological cultures replaced one another for almost one thousand years! Near the foot of the rising ground there is a small stream which falls into the river. It could serve not only as a cover from this side, but also satisfy the needs of the residents of the ancient settlement with respect to drinking water. This area was called “Ancient settlement” and was marked on archeological maps more than one hundred years ago. The most numerous finds are dated to the same 6th–7th century when their neighbors could only guess about the events which occurred deep on the Slavic territory. They have excavated almost three-quarters of the area, approximately three thousand square meters. It allowed studying the fortifications and part of constructions in the ancient settlement itself in detail. It turned out that constructions and fortifications died in the fire; only coals, the remains of burnt blocks including the posts of the palisade which had been dug into the ground remained from them. Archeologists also paid attention to the big number of finds of scattered human bones. They found the remains of a wall which was built of trunks of trees with the diameter of 10–15 cm that were stacked between the posts dug into the ground. In one place the wall was preserved at the height of six stacked blocks. The posts which were put vertically were fastened with “a lock” at the top – a piece of a thick block with openings which were cut in it. Separate parts of the fence interlaced one another for 50–60 cm that’s why it looked rather uneven. They managed to find the traces of some other construction in other parts. It consisted of two rows of embedded posts (with the diameter from 10 to 25 cm) which were situated at the distance of 1.3 m from one another. Here they also found burnt blocks, constructions which

The results of the excavations were published in the book: В. В. Ауліх. Зимнівське городище — слов’янська пам’ятка VI— VII ст. н.е. в Західній Волині. — К., 1972 (V.V. Aulikh. The Zymne ancient settlement, the Slavic monument of the 6th–the 7th century AD in Western Volhynia).

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The remains of the posts of the palisade. The Zymne ancient settlement, the excavations of 1962

were situated transversely. All in all they found three such objects which probably had been towers in the system of fortifications. They were situated along the edge of the elevation with an interval of about 20 meters, which quite corresponds to the adopted system of the arrangement of such fortifications and allows maintaining flanking fire from bows, throwing darts at the attackers. The height of the rampart which was made along the edge of the plateau amounted to from one and a half to almost two meters with the width of 10 meters. They managed to find the traces of a burnt palisade on the rampart. The posts were dug slantwise (in the direction of the field) at an angle of 60–75°. From the internal side of the rampart they found the remains of burnt wooden constructions and also about one hundred pits which were situated in two rows with intervals between pits of one and a half or two meters with the diameter from 0.8 to 1.3 m and the depth of 1.2–1.6 m. The distance between the rows amounted to 4–4.5 m.

The given above results of researches show that part of the ancient settlement was fortified with walls of wood which were filled with clay inside. One of the parts of this system was reinforced with an extension which was situated from the internal side. Its framework consisted of strong posts which were embedded with an interval of one and a half or two meters. Those dozens of pits which were found by archeologists were meant for them. Posts had grooves in which they put pieces of blocks with an appropriate length which were hewed on their ends. This was a rather reliable protection from hostile arrows except for incendiary ones. The length of the excavated part of the construction amounted to approximately one hundred meters and its overall length could amount to about 150 m. It means that this rather monumental building could hold not less than two hundred men. They found the traces of a few hearths on the earthy floor. It can mean that the construction was divided into a few sections along its length. Another row of posts on one of the plots (inside the ancient settlement) suggests that there was some extension here. There are no hearths here that’s why these outbuildings were not residential. After all the residents of the ancient settlement needed some construction where they could keep horses, especially taking into account the fact that they found the remains of a horse harness during excavations more than once. We can only guess how high this construction was. But the fact that it rose above the external wall is beyond any doubt. By the way, the space between this construction and the external wall was, in the opinion of researchers, filled with clay. This is how quite a wide battle ground was formed. Most likely it had a roof and/or covering The Zymne ancient settlement. The plan of the results of excavations and the scheme of the possible development. Points of arrows which were found in the ancient settlement: typical for Avars

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Leaf-like points of big arrows

“Residential walls” and the system of fortifications of the Zymne ancient settlement, the scheme of the possible reconstruction (a cross section)

made of wood as for a few reasons it was dangerous to fight on a slippery fortress wall because of wet clay. In the external walls there were probably loopholes for archers. The same loopholes could be made in the upper tier (tiers) of “the residential walls”. However, the width of the battle ground (not less than 3–4 m) allowed placing even battle catapults like a ballista on it. At first sight this assumption looks incredible – ballistae in Western Volhynia and especially in the 6th–the 7th century! However, among the bush-like points of arrows which were found in the Zymne ancient settlement there are such finds which are 8–12 cm long. Probably they are too big for arrows which are used for bows. I happened to see such products in one of the museums of Transylvania where they were exhibited together with the remains of metal parts of a ballista (of the time of the existence of the Roman province Dacia) and it was indicated that these were the components of the ammunition for this type of weapon. So, this section of the defense was rather strong in all respects. Loopholes which were situated in a few tiers assured rather high density of “fire” at a distance of from one hundred to two hundred meters (and if there were ballistae, then even

farther). And the archers on the walls were protected from shooting from the field. If there were a few hundred fighters (however, the fortress couldn’t hold more warriors), the fortress could hold out even against a small army. The availability of a cavalry allowed making sallies. In front of us we have a small, but quite powerful fortress for a strong squad with a well thought-out defense system4. Thanks to the results of excavations of Slavic ancient settlements on the territory of Poland and especially of Germany, it is known that early Slavic cities, starting from the 6th–the 7th century, had rather complex structures. Fortified Slavic settlements in the basin of the Elbe are studied quite thoroughly. In some places even wooden structures of constructions were preserved thanks to boggy ground. On the background of Polabian Slavic “burgs” the Zymne ancient settlement doesn’t look something incredible either in terms of the complexity of structures or in terms of sizes. What they have in common is a well thought-out structure, the building of powerful constructions with the help of simple means. Who and why were the described above and other ancient settlements which are similar to this one built?

The capital of powerful Dulebes? In the chronicles they mention a powerful alliance which exactly in the 6th century united the Slavic tribes including the ones on the territory of Volhynia. The name “Dulebes” was known not only to chroniclers, but also to Byzantine authors. In terms of archeology this period is represented in this part of the Land by the Prague culture. In the 9th century the name of Dulebes had already been forgotten; they remember the alliance of Buzhans and Volhynians instead of them. It is known that the toponyms which contain the ethnicon “Dulebes” stretch to the

This is how the authors of the Polish film “When the Sun was God” pictured Slavic warriors 4

This fortification was more powerful than “the city of Kyi” if we consider the traces of an ancient rampart and a ditch on Starokyivska Hora to be it, see sections: “Knyaz Kyi and his city” and “In search of the city of Kyi”. By the way, Kyiv in the 6th–the 7th century is represented with the materials of the same Prague culture in an archeological respect.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Pripyat in the northeast (the village of Duliby near Ostroh), there is a village called Duliby to the southeast of Lviv, there is also a village with the same name near Chortkiv in the Ternopil region. There is an island with such a name on the Pripyat, to the south of Pinsk, in Belarus. Probably Dolobske Lake (in chronicles it was called Dulebske) in Kyiv (a well know for the residents of Kyiv district Hidropark) is also relevant. Archeologists singled out the materials which are similar to the finds from Volhynia on the territory of Slovakia and also Poland, in the upper reaches of Vistula. A record of one of the Arab authors al-Mas'udi about the fact that the tribe of Volhynians once had a knyaz to whom other Slavic tribes were submitted looks interesting. In other words, we are actually speaking about a tribal union, a chiefdom. If we assume that in a certain period it included all the bearers of the Prague culture (or most of them), then it could be a rather big union the borders of which stretched to the Danube in the South, to the borders of the kingdom of Franks in the West and to the territories of Belarus in the North. And the city of Kyi was just a small frontier fortress on the Eastern borders of this union. The interesting thing is that the Prague culture can be divided into several local variants in the mentioned above territory. What are they, also separate tribes or tribal unions? The fact that the Prague culture on the territory of the Land (and in some places beyond its boundaries) was replaced with Luka-Rayky culture doesn’t mean that the political unity was preserved on a vast ter-

Materials of the Prague culture in the exposition of the museum in the city of Cluj, Transylvania

5

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The finds from the Zymne ancient settlement: parts of a horse harness, parts of belts and military equipage

ritory in the same way; at least from the second half of the 9th century chroniclers mention half a dozen of tribal unions from Polans on the Danube to Buzhans, Volhynians, Drevlians and others. Each tribe, each union could (was supposed to) have a place, most likely a city, where the great knyaz resided. Sometimes the Zymne ancient settlement is regarded as such a center. Some scientists even write that it is in this city that the capital of the powerful Dulebi union was situated, that it is here that the residence of the ruler who was mentioned by al-Mas'udi was situated. In fact, the Zymne ancient settlement could as well be regarded as the residence of the knyaz, a castle. There was enough space here both for the knyaz and the “superior” squad, a military escort which was supposed to belong to such a person. However, it was clearly too small for the tribal union, particularly for the capital of the Dulebi alliance (if it really united the bearers of the Prague culture). The fortress was supposed to be bigger and archeologists should have found more serious traces of the craftsman's and trade activities. Thus, in the Zymne ancient settlement they found the traces of the work of smiths, even of a jeweler, but they are very and very modest. Here they cast adornments of bronze and silver, repaired some weapons and equipment. However, all of this is not enough for the capital life. Besides, the territory for the work was rather small. True, the fortress existed for a short time. Even for this period they managed to burn it, to rebuild it and then again to burn it. Evidently it was not quiet even in the powerful Dulebi kingdom. The question who destroyed the ancient settlement was answered a long time ago. They found triblade points of arrows, the arrows which one day fell on the city and its defenders in a lethal shower. Such points were used by Avars who appeared in the South of the Land in 562 AD5. We can determine the time of the catastrophe which destroyed the once-Sclavenian fortress in greater detail if we take into account the information about the campaign of the Avar khan Bayan I beyond the Carpathian Mountains, i.e. 566 AD. The new ally of the Byzantine Empire which Antes and Sclaveni bothered with their raids had to go through the lands of Dulebes. Neither dark forests nor the courage of the defenders (the remains of some of them were found during excavations) rescued the Dulebi city near Zymne and their tribal union from complete collapse.

You can find more details about the Avar state and its creators in the section: “Obres and Slavs”.

Section 17

Obres and Slavs n “The Tale of Bygone Years” they are mentioned as “Obres”. Byzantines called them Avars. We are speaking about nomads who for some time occupied practically the same position in Europe as Huns had done it before them. The beginning of their history is connected with a successful attempt to get out of the power of the Turkic khaganate. True, in order to do this they had to look for a place as far as possible from the rulers of the Great Steppe. According to the views of the Avar elite Europe was such a place and to be more exact, the lands where the center of the state of Attila had been situated. Probably, they knew not only the legends about the great ruler of Huns, but also the routes to his Central European territories. Striving to assure a safe and wealthy life, Obres-Avars tried to recreate some of the acts of Huns, but as it turned out later, they overrated their strength. The state which was created by them became the loot of their neighbors soon. The interesting thing is that for many Slavic tribes the invasion which was destructive at the very beginning became a prelude not only to the extension of their own territories, but also to the creation of statehood.

I

Rebels, destroyers, tramps The Avar tribal union appeared on “the ruins” (and on part of the territory) of the alliance of Huns, having united under its name clans and tribes of nomads and grain growers which were different with respect to their origin. It included Utigurs, Kutrigurs, Sabirs (Savirs), Bulgars and in a certain period even Slavs. The ethnicon “Avars” has different interpretations; there are also different opinion regarding its origin. Some scientists trace the word awar to the Turkic languages in which awa means “to lean”, “to rise” and by adding the suffix –ar we get the name which means “the one who resists, rebel”. Other scientists think that the verb av is the initial part of the ethnicon and it means “to destroy”; by adding the same suffix –ar, we get the notion “destroyer”. However, in the Turkish vocabulary “avare” is translated as “tramp”, “the one who roams”. The history of the people of Avars in the dark ages formed in such a way that all the mentioned above interpretations were reflected in it to a certain extent.

Avars went from Asia to the West, striving to get out of the power of the Turkic khaganate. Having settled down in the Northern Caucasus first, the rebels offered their services to the Byzantine Empire for the war with Iran. However, soon the horde went to the Pontic steppes, subduing other nomads. Then Avars-destroyers attacked Antes, reached the lands of Dulebes and even the lands of Slavic tribes to the North of the Carpathians. You can find the traces of the ancient nomads in the Pontic steppes only thanks to burial places. And it is not that easy to determine the belonging of these finds to a certain tribal union. That’s why any list of such finds with an indication of their belonging to Avars or to Bulgars, or to

The appearance of Avars and their coming to Europe, the 6th–the 7th century

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A vessel from an Avar burial place in the museum exposition

any other tribes which are known from written sources always becomes the subject of heated discussions between archeologists. In any case, there are up to half a hundred of Avar burial places now. This is not many, but at least this is a few times more than the burial places of Huns. Most of these burial places were found in more ancient burial mounds. Dead men were buried in pits, putting them on the back, with the hands stretched along the body. In wealthy burial places you can find the bones of a horse with a harness and also a weapon (a sword) with a sword belt (straps which once adorned it and a clasp remain from it). They put in the graves of the wealthiest people not bones, but a whole horse, a belt which was adorned with gold or silver, a sword, a bow with arrows and even part of a sheep. And poor people had such modest funeral gifts as a knife, a pot (it would be interesting to know what it was filled with); they also find clasps from belts and small adornments. Sometimes restorers have to apply great effort to restore the products of ancient craftsmen which lay in the ground for more than one thousand years. For example, in 1966 in the burial place of an Avar warrior which was discovered near the

village of Rozdolne in the Crimea they found the remains of a belt which was adorned with luxurious straps1. True, at the moment the products of metal were found, they didn’t look very good. Their surface was covered with a rather thick layer of rust of the brown color from under which in some places you could see gold and something green (copper oxide) and also insertions of colored glass. First they developed a program of researches; it was necessary to determine what the layer of rust is, how it was formed and only after this to determine what could be done for the restoration of this rare find. The layer of rust with admixtures of copper oxide and crystals of silver amounted to 3 mm in some places. It was formed because the product lay in the layer of ground saturated with salts (after all this is the steppe Crimea) in which due to the presence of an iron object nearby (and due to humidity) ... a galvanic scheme was formed. Iron as an element with a higher electric potential was transferred to the surface of plates which were made with the use of gold and silver (with admixtures of copper). Under such extreme conditions only gold, colored stones and glass and also mastic which was made by ancient skilled craftsmen for fastening insertions could remain relatively intact. Its composition was determined with the help of infraspectroscopy. It turned out that this is a mixture of kaolin and silicon oxide which is made on the basis of some oil. The insertions were made of lazurite, malachite and glass. In order to make the glass look brighter and more attractive, they put gold foil under it.

Adornments for the belt from an Avar burial place which was excavated in the Crimea (after restoration) 1 The restoration was carried out (and described) by Olexandr Minzhulin; you can see the state of the find before and after the restoration: О. Менжулін. Реставрація творів з металу. — К., 1998. — С. 173—177, іл. 99—102 (O. Minzhulin. The restoration of products of metal).

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Reconstruction of the belt of a noble Avar warrior. The gold adornments were found in a burial place in the Balkans

They had to remove products of corrosion with the help of mechanical means. Then with the help of modern chemicals they reinforced the metal which was preserved (silver, soldered balls; 60–75% of gold and the rest is an admixture of copper and silver). The glass and stone insertions were also cleaned and then the ones which fell out of the slots were put back into their places. Now this rare and interesting find is kept in the Museum of Historical Jewels of Ukraine and is a witness of important events in the history of the Land. There is a tendency in the domestic history, just like the authors of ancient chronicles, to mention Avars with the help of unkind words. Let bygones be bygones; Slavic tribal unions had to fight quite a lot with this formidable enemy. But it is in these battles, in this cruel fight with Avars that the process of the establishment of ancient Slavic states was accelerated. However, there were times when Slavic chiefs under compulsion (and sometimes of their own free will) acted as allies of the Avar khaganate.

ing “forgotten” for a moment that at that time it was already occupied by the tribal union of Langobards). The way of the Avar horde to the new territories lay through the lands which were inhabited by Sclaveni. In reply to the demands of the payment of tribute, their chief told the Avar ambassadors: “Has the person been born and is the sun shining upon the one who can overcome our power? Since we are used to rule the others and not be ruled by others.” Of course, the ambassadors got infuriated at such impudence and for this reason they were killed. The revenge of the Avar khagan was not delayed. Meanwhile Avars started looking for safer ways to the West, having reached the territories of Franks. The main

The imperial gift Sometimes it can be difficult, even dangerous for your life to get the most liberal gift. However, later this gift may appear pernicious for the one who managed to get it. At the same time the one who gives such gifts also risks a lot. Further we will speak about one of such perfidious presents which was given by a Byzantine emperor to an Avar khagan almost one and a half thousand years ago. Having concluded an alliance with Alans, in 558 AD Avars offered their services to the emperor Justinianus I. In those times the Empire waged protracted wars and the support, even if it was not disinterested, was well-timed. Having conquered Bulgars who were roaming near the borders of the Byzantine Empire, the Avar khan Bayan became a neighbor of Justinianus I. True, at this moment the bellicose Antes who had settled down on the Danube, once “the most powerful among Veneti” were the same neighbors. A war broke out; Avars became the victors in it. Antes who were not united under the common power were forced to submit to the khagan. On the occasion of the successful cooperation the emperor gave the victors Pannonia for settling down (havFinds from Avar burial places on the territory of Transylvania. The exposition of the museum in the city of Cluj

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The battle between Franks (on the left) and Avars (on the right). The miniature from a medieval chronicle

forces headed by Bayan followed the scouts. The route lay through the lands of Antes and Sclaveni who had to save their life by running away farther to the North. This is how Slavs appeared on the territory to the North of the Carpathians and even on the Elbe. Having made an incredible journey through the thicket of Europe, finally Avars reached Pannonia, having appeared in the center of Europe this way. This is how they finally received a perfidious imperial gift. A short time later Avars started making raids including to the territories of the Byzantine Empire. Just like in the times of Huns, the Empire started paying a certain sum to the khagan. For almost 600 years

A burial place of an Avar warrior with a horse. The territory of Slovakia

these sums amounted to 120 thousand solidi (yearly). If we calculate the weight (at 3.56 g/solidus and the empire used these coins for settlements with the barbarians), then we will get some 427 kg of gold per year. Till 626 AD this sum already amounted to 6 million solidi; however, as compared with Attila, Avars cost the imperial treasure much less. The great difference consisted in the fact that the barbarians received gold in the form of special solidi which were minted according to the smaller standard as compared to the adopted one in the Empire. The barbarians often sewed these coins on clothes or used them as pendants for necklaces, which is confirmed

The Avar khaganate and the attacks on the Byzantine Empire, the end of the 6th–the beginning of the 7th century

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Section 17. Obres and Slavs Iron points of arrows, the 7th–the 8th century; these are the arrows which were adopted by Avar archers Parts of a complex Avar bow which were made of bone (and found in a burial place) and the reconstruction of the bow. The exposition of the Military Museum in Belgrade

by the finds of such coins in nomadic burial places. True, there was still some trade as they found a certain number of products of Byzantine craftsmen in the Avar burial places. As a rule, these are things of precious metals (gold is more often than silver): clasps, belt sets, adornments and even vessels.

The battle might of the khaganate They haven’t found many Avar burial places on the territory of the Land. And it is not surprising as the political center of their state was situated to the West of the Carpathians. It is there that they strived to go at any cost in a certain period in order to run away from the omnipotent rulers of the Turkic khaganate and this way to get out of their power. We can try to track the traces of Avar raids in Europe with the help of the finds of typical points of arrows – these lethal “visit cards” of nomads, starting from the Scythian times. The finds of such products in the Zymne ancient settlement is an obvious illustration of the annalistic record about the fact that Avars carried out a successful campaign against Dulebes. The layer with the traces of the fire in this settlement shows the results of this raid. But this was one of the few Slavic fortresses in this region and it was not one of the weakest. The basis of the military might of the khaganate consisted in the armor-clad cavalry which was supported by horse archers. The presence of iron stirrups gave horsemen a lot of advantages. They could shoot rather accurately from a farranging bow for the distance of more than 200 m. And the threeedged points of arrows easily pierced not only leather, but even metal armor of the enemy. A long, straight, single-bladed sword at that time became the standard for

the steppe (and not only for the steppe) cavalry from the borders of China and Iran to the Pontic steppes. This ancestor of the medieval saber could have a rather long hilt which could be held with two hands if necessary. Since it was not that easy to cut through a rather strong “armor” of iron plates which were sewed on the leather with a steel blade. However, this sword worked perfectly against the Slavic infantry which was not protected with armor. The tactics of battle actions was also traditional: shooting at the enemy from farranging bows and then an attack of the armorclad cavalry which breaks the formations of the enemy and forces to run away in a panic way. After this it only remained to pursue and slash with long swords the enemies who were running away up hill and down dale. Such actions were equally effective both against the Byzantine army and the Slavic infantry. It is fought that Avar archers could shoot up to 20 arrows per minute. Under the cover of such a heavy (and aimed) fire they could as well assault the walls and towers of any of the Slavic cities. True, in order to besiege a Byzantine fortress it was necessary to bring not only the infantry, but also powerful siege guns. However, Avars also solved these problems in a successful way by forcing the Slavic tribes to serve them; and among the subjects of the emperor there were An Avar horse warrior (reconstruction by M. Horelik)

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The exposition of the Military Museum in Belgrade which is dedicated to the Avar-Slavic military cooperation with the patterns of weapons and equipage of the 6th–the 7th century

ting in the saddle. Neither the strongest Byzantine armor nor the helmet could withstand such a weapon. The payment of tribute didn’t always save the suburbs of the Empire from perfectly organized raids of either Avars who were called Slavs or Slavs who were called Avars. Byzantines didn’t always understand who exactly from among the unquiet neighbors came to visit them. However, the moment had come when all the frontier clashes and raids appeared to be mere trifles as compared to the grandiose military operation during which a huge army of the Avar khagan appeared under the walls of Constantinople. This was a real big war and most likely its main coordinator was the principal adversary of the Byzantine Empire in the East, Iran. It is thought that Iranian diplomats by themselves (or by means of mediators) managed to involve in the campaign not only Avars, but also a considerable part of their neighbors who had been tempted by the future division of “the Byzantine fortune” in Europe. The khagan and the great king of kings could hardly foresee at that moment that this campaign would become fatal at the same time for Iran and the Avar khaganate, but at the same time, without any exaggeration, momentous for Slavs.

The Constantinople epopee

always military experts who were ready to supply siege machines to anybody for an appropriate fee. Now in the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, in the Military Museum you can see a showcase with the patterns of weapons and military equipage of the times of mutual battle operations. The reconstruction of far-ranging bows, arrows, parts of belt sets, stirrups are exhibited there. There is a pair of battle axes with long helves and their length is sufficient so that you could strike blows, sit-

There were times when this event was described not otherwise than “the campaign of the Rus in the 7th century to Tsargrad”2. True, in 626 AD people in Constantinople had never heard of the Rus. Since the records about this event appeared in chronicles two hundred years later when the Rus really became rather frequent guests. However, in the summer of that year the capital of the Byzantine Empire was really besieged for more than a month. Probably the city of Constantine appeared in such a desperate plight for the first time in its multi-century history. An 80 thousand army consisting of different tribes and headed by the Avar khagan came to the walls of the city on the European shore. It is thought that it happened on July 29, 626 AD. Romei didn’t expect that Avars and Slavs The walls of Constantinople (after restoration) and the Byzantine cavalry of the 6th–the 7th century (Reconstruction) would come with

2

Я. Е. Боровский. Византийские, старославянские и старогрузинские источники о походе русов в VII в. на Царьград. Древности славян и Руси. М.: Наука, 1988, с.114—119 (Ya.Ye. Borovskiy. Byzantine, old Slavic and old Georgian sources

about the campaign of the Rus in the 7th century to Tsargrad. The antiquities of Slavs and Rus).

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Section 17. Obres and Slavs A coin with the image of “the Boar of the Empire” Farrokhan Shahrbaraz which was minted in the times of his short ruling after the death of Khosrau II

war as the emperor had concluded a truce with the chiefs of the barbarians! However, evidently people in Constantinople underestimated the abilities of the Iranian diplomacy. Thus Iran was quite fairly considered to be the principal enemy that’s why it was on its territories that the emperor Heraclius was waging a successful war at that moment. However, it seems that they didn’t expect such perfidy from their enemy. When the troops headed by the Avar khagan came to the walls of the city, on the Asian shore of the Bosporus, in Chalkidiki, the warriors from the army of the great king of kings Eran and Aneran Khosrau II Parvez were putting up tents. These troops were headed by one of their best commanders, Farrokhan Shahrbaraz, “the Boar of the Empire”3. It seemed that under such circumstances the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and its disappearance from the political map of the world was inevitable. The king of kings expected that the ruler of the Byzantine Empire would hurry to rescue Constantinople and would meet the Iranian army on the shores of the Bosporus. The troops under the special command of the king of kings would pursue Romei. Even if the AvarSlavic allies capture Constantinople, this city will not go anywhere. Since after the annihilation of the field army (and the emperor) the destiny of the Byzantine Empire will be decided. However, the emperor Heraclius destroyed the sly plans as he didn’t hurry to rescue the capital. It seemed that he left the city to the mercy of fate. But the emperor knew what he was doing. The capital was directed by Patriarch Sergius who was experienced both in spiritual and secular

3

Eran and Aneran Khosrau II Parvez with full armament, a relief of the beginning of the 7th century

affairs. The Byzantine fleet dominated on the sea. The emperor thought quite fairly that he might not hurry to take his troops to rescue the city: it was not that easy for his enemies to capture Constantinople. Most likely an unsuccessful siege will undermine the enthusiasm of his enemies, especially in Europe. And under a good confluence of circumstances they will fight with one another. And as it turned out later, this reckoning proved to be correct. Of course, the Avar cavalry couldn’t get over the walls of the city even under the cover of skillful archers. However, the troops included quite a lot of infantrymen from among Slavic tribes. It is with them that Romei had to fight under the city walls on 31 July 626. The description of the formation of Slavic warriors was preserved: in the first rows there were lightly armed warriors, heavily armed warriors stood in the second line. Their leaders acted as if they were very familiar with treaA coin with the image of king of kings Khosrau II

It was him who directed the assault of Damascus in 613 and the capture of Jerusalem the following year when probably the main Christian sacred object, the True Cross, fell into the hands of the warriors of the king of kings.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus The gate of Constantinople (after restoration) and the Byzantine warriors of the 6th–the 7th century (Reconstruction)

tises of Byzantines on military art. A fierce battle lasted for a few hours. The next day the khagan brought siege machines to the walls of the city. At the same time the Iranian army, although it had almost reached the city, couldn’t take part in the battle operations. Since it was necessary to convey them to the European shore somehow. For this purpose the khagan decided to use Slavic single-tree boats an entire flotilla of which was at his disposal. However, such boats which were intended for crossing rivers rather than for sea battles were intercepted by the fleet of Romei. As a result of this, the conveyance of Iranian troops to the walls of Cons tan tinople failed. Then the khagan organized a new assault – this time by efforts of his troops: Avars were to attack from the land, Slavs from the sea. Romei managed to lure single-tree boats

and rafts to the bay Golden Horn beforehand. The thing is that the attack from the sea was supposed to start only on a signal, after the capture by Avars of one of the city towers. In this case the victors were supposed to ignite fire on its top. The defenders of Constantinople who had found out about this plan gave the signal themselves, of course, at the moment which was convenient for them. Being quite confident that Avars were already on the city walls, the Slavic flotilla went to the Golden Horn where it was unexpectedly attacked by biremes and trieras of the imperial fleet. However, at the beginning of the battle Slavs managed not only to repulse the attack, but even to cross the bay and land on the shore. To the great horror of Byzantines, they went to the section in front of the temple of Saint Mary where the city was not enclosed with the city wall yet at that moment. It seemed that the destiny of Constantinople was already decided. An archer, a find from the ancient settlement Mikul…ice. The storm which Great Moravia started at this moment scattered light singletree boats and awkward rafts. At the same time sea waves couldn’t seriously damage heavy Byzantine ships. The consequences for the Slavic flotilla were awful. “All this bay was filled with dead bodies and empty monoxyla which were drifting by the A ships of the Byzantine fleet on postage stamps of Greece will of waves. The entire bay became a

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Section 17. Obres and Slavs troops were losing courage. In such situations they usually look for the guilty and punish them in a cruel way in order to boost the morale of the troops. This is exactly what the khagan did, having said that Slavs were guilty of the failure of the victorious assault. The warriors who had survived during the unsuccessful amphibious landing operation appeared to be close at hand and he ordered to kill them all. This is how allies (to the joy of Romei) became mortal foes at The scheme of battle operations under the walls of Constantinople in 626 once. Slavic detachments which still stayed on the land went away from the walls of the city. After them firm land because of dead bodies and empty monoxyla Avars were also forced to go away, having burnt siege on which blood was running” – this is how this battle machines. The Iranian troops stayed on the Asian shore of field was described by Theodore Syncellus. Byzantine the Bosporus. All the efforts appeared to be vain: Constanchroniclers didn’t forget to write down that this event tinople held out this time; everything happened clearly didn’t occur without the interference just like the emperor Heraclius thought. and the protection of Saint Mary herTwo years hadn’t passed since self – “… the one who Bore with the siege of his own capital the Immaculate Conception when he was already holding bent bows and struck at a banquet in the residence shields, overturned and of the king of kings4 sank boats, making the sea abyss the shelter where he came without for everybody”. In any any invitation. In case, it seems that memory of the victory this was a complete the emperor gave defeat of the Slavic some of the captured landing party. vessels to the comAvars under the mander of Khazars; city walls were not some trophies were successful either; they also given to other didn’t manage to get allies-warriors from over the walls of the steppes. Just like in Constantinople. Their the times of Asian camcasualties were huge; the paigns of Scythians, the funeral gifts in the graves of the Land were supplemented A silver dish with the image of with silver and gold from distant the king of kings Khosrau II. Iran, the 7th century warm lands.

4

The Byzantine intelligence services skillfully sidelined Farrokhan Shahrbaraz (more importantly, his army) when they gave the Iranian commander the shah’s letter with an order to execute “the Boar of the Empire” without any trial or investigation.

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The fall of the Avar khaganate

Finds from Avar burial places. Hungary

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After these events it only remained for the emperor Heraclius to establish contacts with yesterday’s allies of his enemies and also with the enemies of his enemies, which he did without wasting time. Bulgars separated from the khaganate and created their own union. Slavs rose against the Avar ruling and started establishing their own states. In the North the war with the khaganate was renewed by the Slavic state which was headed by the former Frankish merchant Samo. The tribal union of Croats invaded into the Avar territories from the North. They managed to find lands in Dalmatia and even to establish their own state there which was an ally of the Byzantine Empire at first. Part of Avars was included into the newly established principality; their chief even preserved the ancient title and was called “ban” (in Avar “bayan”). Besides Croats, Serbs also went to the South; they settled down around the old Romei city and fortress Singidunum. Now this city is called Belgrade and it is the capital of Serbia. Only a saying remained as a remembrance of the Avar ruling in distant Volhynia: “perished like Obres”. The Avar territories and influence in Europe started decreasing rapidly. In the times of Charles the Great the last khagan embraced Christianity and swore allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire. And the remains of the once-powerful state were divided between the neighbors. This is how rebels and destroyers turned into tramps without any homeland and state. The Slavic tribes on the Lower Danube didn’t have enough time to take advantage of the fruits of the victory over Avars to the fullest extent. From the East Bulgars were roaming here; to be more exact, this was the part of Bulgars who didn’t want to submit to Khazars. Their ruler, khan Asparuh, headed a new state, Bulgaria. Not only Bulgars, but also Slavic ceramics Slavs, Avars and Romei were among his of the 7th century subjects. A few more centuries passed from the territory of Bulgaria and Bulgaria became quite a Slavic state.

Section 18

From Ukranenland to Hisn as’Sakaliba t is interesting to trace the directions of wandering and also the destiny of Slavic tribes which settled down far from the banks of the Dnieper and the Dniester. The circumstances were such that they went to the West and to the South in search of a better destiny. The journey of some tribes ended on the shores of the rivers which in those times were called Labe and Vadra. However, quite a different people has been calling these rivers Elbe and Oder for a few centuries. Other tribes, having reached the Danube, appeared on the borders of the Byzantine Empire which suffered as far back as in the times of wars with Goths, Huns, Avars and other enemies of the Empire. Quite a lot of migrants not only found their new homeland here, but also established their own states. Some of them returned to their native heath. The rest of them were less lucky; some of them were killed in battles, some of them died of hunger, some of them were sold into servitude and even taken overseas, to Asia, to the countries which one thousand years before them had already been visited by expatriates from the Land, Cimmerians and Scythians. Here are just a few pages from the history of that epoch.

I

Ukranenland Ukranenland is translated not otherwise as “the land of Ukri”. The only thing is that it is not situated on the territory of our Land at all and it is connected with Ukraine only due to the fact that once it was inhabited by Slavs, probably even by expatriates from the banks of the Dnieper or the Dniester. Since now the land of Ukri is situated in the federal district Pomerania which is a constituent part of the Federal Republic of Germany. A museum under the open sky has been opened here in the outskirts of a small town Torgelow1. Its exhibits familiarize you with the way of life of Slavs from the tribe of Ukrer-Ukranen who inhabited this land more than one thousand years ago. Here on a picturesque forest border, near a river you can see a village surrounded by a palisade, go into dwellings and even go down the river in a copy of the ancient boat. The guides say that the local Ukri were skillful shipbuilders and navigators.

In the times when the Avar khaganate was expanding its territories and strengthening its power in Europe, quite a lot of Slavic tribes decided to look for some place for living which was as far as possible from the bellicose neighbors. Some tribes settled down between the Vadra (now this river is called Oder) and the Labe (the Elbe). Ukranenland, a favorite place of re-enactors and tourists from different countries of Europe

Ukranenland, the reconstruction of a Slavic settlement near the modern city Torgelow, Germany

1

You can find more details about the life of the town and the museum at the site: www.ukranenland.de and also http://www.lagomar.de/index.php?id=40

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The location of Ukranenland and the directions of Slavic campaigns to the boundaries of the Byzantine Empire in the 6th–the 7th century

We know the names of the tribes which started living in these lands, among them are Tollenser, Rotari, Veleti, Lingones, Verabi, Pomeranians, Rarogs, Rericks and

many, many others. They distinguish three powerful tribal unions – Lusatians, Liutizians (also called Veleti, Wilzi), Obotrites (Obodrites) which were sometimes even called “proto-states”. The names of the rulers-knyazes of these lands have survived to this day that’s why we could as well call them principalities. These principalities existed till the 9th century and some of them even till the 13th century till they were conquered by the neighboring German states. Not only the names of ancient Slavic cities like Stargrad (also called Aldinburg), Dymin, Radogosh, Velehrad, but also the descriptions of some of them were preserved, to say nothing about the findings of archeological excavations. The Slavic cities were studied, and rather thoroughly, by One of the Slavic cities; reconstruction according to the data of archeological excavations. Germany

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A view on the location of the sanctuary of Arkona

In the same place there was a temple where, accordGerman archeologists who often invited foreign coling to the descriptions of contemporaries, you could see leagues for cooperation. For instance, for quite a lot of an image of a deity which was made of gold and its bed years an international expedition which included was covered with purple. The description of this temple experts from the Kyiv Institute of Archeology worked in belongs to a Christian and was made in the 11th century Aldinburg. In general, the results of the excavations conwhen a considerable part of Europe had already been firmed the data about powerful fortifications and temples of these cities. And ancient descriptions strike the imagination. Thus the city of Radogosh (Radigost) had nine gates and was surrounded by a deep lake. You could get to the gates only by means of wooden bridges. True, the lake wasn’t preserved; however, there was a swamp which was formed in its place and they found not only utensils, instruments, weapons, but also wooden parts of constructions including the remains of those Reconstruction of a fortified sanctuary of Arkona, basing on the data of excavations bridges there.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus probably the last pagans in this part of Europe. It is against them that the crusades were directed; they became fatal not only for ancient gods, but also for the local statehood, to say nothing about the peoples themselves. Now only the expositions in museums, ancient Slavic names of cities, rivers, lakes which were changed in a German way and also the village Ukranenland which was rebuilt by German businessmen remind of the times when the knyazes of Veleti and Obodrites reigned over the lands from the Vadra to the Labe.

Slavs and the Byzantine Empire

Treasures of Great Moravia

christened. The sanctuary in Arkona which is situated on a high rocky shore is equally well-known. The Polabian Slavs and Baltic tribes which are known as Prussians were

For quite a long time the Empire had to deal with nomads – Sarmatians, Huns and their successors in Europe kept their frontiers unquiet. People in Constantinople gradually got used to it. It seems that already at that time Slavs were regarded as companions of these enemies; in the works of Byzantine historians you can meet the list of their names separated by a comma and Slavs with Antes were often at the end of this list. For some time Slavs regarded the Danube as the frontier of the populated world, but, nonetheless, some information came from beyond it. Since in Dacia which was successfully inhabited by them there were still descendants of the population of that very Roman province. They could find out quite a lot of things about the life there, behind the river and also about the past times from them. Probably it is in that epoch that the image of the emperor Trajan was included into the Slavic folklore, but it was already described not as a mighty ruler, but as a ruler of the fairy-tale land, “the Trajan Land” who walks along “the Trajan path”. He also built the earthy fortification “Trajan’s Wall”. By the way, it is thought that the ethnicon “Greeks” which was included into the Slavic language has a Latin origin. And then Antes and Sclaveni started making raids on the territories of the Byzantine Empire. It is though that the echo of ancient events resulted in separate plots and even whole bylinas, for example, the byliEarly Slavic ceramics from excavations in Transylvania, on the territory of a former Roman province Dacia. The museum in the city of Cluj, Romania

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Section 18. From Ukranenland to Hisn as’Sakaliba The standard of the emperor Constantine – labarum. The image on a coin

na about Volkh. Its main character with a squad headed by him wages a war for loot: weapons, cattle (horses, cows) and also slaves. True, in the bylina they are speaking about “the Indian kingdom” or about “the Turkish power”, but these bylinas were written at an appropriate time. The first raids were carried out as far back as in the times of the emperor Anastasius I and continued during the reign of Justin I and his successor Justinianus I. These events coincide in time with the next climatic changes which are connected with a number of hungry years. Barbarians suffered from bad harvests to a greater extent than the subjects of the empire as they couldn’t count on either victualling stores or the deliveries of grain from Africa. And now it was not the thirst for loot, but hunger which drove the migrants from the North to the South. In the times of Justinianus I Slavic raids were carried out almost every year. Often the attackers didn’t hurry to go back to the Danube at all and started settling down on the lands of the Empire! In the spring of 551 AD Slavic detachments reached the walls of the city Adrianople and it remained some 5 days' march to get to the capital. The Slavic troops managed to overpower the army which had been sent against them (and headed by half a dozen of famous

commanders) and even captured the labarum, the sacred military standard of the emperor Constantine, as a trophy. The army of the conquerors together with a huge string of carts and crowds of captives reached “the long walls”, the fortifications which were situated one day’s march from the capital. And here Romei who followed them attacked in the rear of the Slavic troops. They managed not only to liberate the prisoners, but also to bring back the standard of Constantine. After this battle the Slavic detachments retreated beyond the Danube, having part of the plunder and prisoners with them. In the following years they besieged not once (true, unsuccessfully) the second biggest city after Constantinople of the Byzantine Empire on the territory of Europe, Thessaloniki, with the use of siege machines. When Avars appeared near the borders of the empire, experienced Byzantine diplomats managed to use their force against Slavs at first. But some time later Avars, having conquered Slavs, came back to visit their former employers with renewed vigor. And the combination of the Avar cavalry and the Slavic infantry put the imperial commanders in a very complex situation; in 626 AD2 they managed to defend Constantinople only by a miracle! Of course, they could rout a separate detachment which was coming on a raid or to devastate the frontier territories on the left bank of the Danube and finally bribe the chiefs of Antes and use them against Sclaveni; however, it didn't solve the problem of raids from the North. Only with the appearance of the first Slavic states on the political map, and it happened during the 7th century, the Byzantines got more responsible partners for negotiations and chances to conclude peace. True, they had to pay a lot for the peace and not only with gold and sonorous titles, but also with territories. And while doing so, they had to constantly get prepared for the next war. It is not for nothing that in a certain period the Slavic subject occupied a rather noticeable place in the considerations of one of the Byzantine strategists.

The instructions on the fight with Slavs A rather considerable in terms of volume treatise on the military art which was written by either the emperor Maurice or by one of his commanders (and probably jointly by a number of authors who were competent in the questions of tactics and strategy) in the second half of the 6th century contains not only instructions on the quesCeramics and points of a spear from an early Slavic burial place. The territory of Serbia

2

You can find more details about this episode and about the Avar-Slavic relations on the whole in the section: “Obres and Slavs”

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Modern reconstruction of Slavic shields

tions of battle training of the cavalry and infantry, but also wise advice connected with how exactly you can surely gain victory over numerous hordes of neighbors-barbarians3. This advice is accompanied with a more or less detailed description of the probable enemy, its way of life, customs, the system of power, the economic and military potential. At the beginning the author points out that the tribes of Slavs and Antes “like freedom and are not disposed to either servitude or obedience, brave, especially in their own land, and enduring”. These courageous people, as he wrote, make unexpected raids and use military ruses, while doing so. Further there is a standard set of armaments of Slavs – a set of darts, a strong, but too heavy, in the opinion of the author, shield, a bow with poisoned arrows. With such armaments they prefer to fight in

forests and not in an open, even area. However, it is more likely that it suggests the presence of common sense on the part of the leaders of these warriors since they couldn’t fight with Romei as an equal in an open field; they could count only on a sudden and powerful pressure which would result in disorder among the hostile troops. The weak point of Slavs is the problem with management: “Nobody is elected as commanders and they are always quarreling with one another”. Taking into account that there is no unified leadership, it is not clear who you should turn to for concluding peace. Since after you conclude an agreement with one tribe, other tribes may not recognize it, which results in the fact that even the tribe with which you seemed to have reached an agreement is already ready to start a war again. That’s why, in the opinion of the strategist, you can subdue Slavs only by gaining victory, filling them with dread. The practice of bribing the ruling elite by means of conferring sonorous titles which was successfully used against Goths, Huns, Avars was admitted to be insufficient in this case. Byzantines paid attention at once to a big number of knyazes of Slavs and Antes and also to the fact that rulers were seldom in concord with one another. That’s why they decided that it was better to buy the Slavic elite by retail; it would be cheaper this way and you can always set one ruler against another. The old principle of the international politics: “divide and rule”. But if you can’t bribe the enemy, if it doesn’t surrender, then it is annihilated. The author of the treatise thought that in order to fight with Slavs, you should send the troops

Dismounted and horse Slavic warriors. A composition of figures of “The Velestino collection”

3

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Section 5 from book 11 of this treatise looks especially interesting: Маврикий Тактика и стратегия/перевод Цибишева, 1903 р. — Книга 11, раздел 5 (Mauritius Tactics and strategy/translated by Tsibishev) // http://www.xlegio.ru/sources/maurikios/maurikios11.htm

Section 18. From Ukranenland to Hisn as’Sakaliba

The settlement of Slavs and military operations with their participation in Asia Minor in the 7th century. The legend: 1 — the place of settlement; 2 — military operations in Cilicia

which consist of the cavalry and lightly armed infantry. The stake is on small arms and darts which are used in a battle, first of all, in an open area. Catapults which can hit the enemy at a far distance can also be useful. It is better to conduct military operations (something like operations with “compulsion to peace”) on the territory of the enemy and it is better to launch war in winter. If war was launched in another season, then it is necessary to procure materials and means for the construction of bridges and crossings over rivers. Of course, a reconnaissance party must be sent ahead in order to prevent sudden attacks from ambushes. It is better to cover the rears with detachments of the cavalry. When entering the boundaries of the hostile land, it is necessary to make a fortified camp, preferably in an open area in order to prevent the threat of a sudden attack. It is offered to wage war on the Slavic territory where two columns must enter and move towards each other. Further they must move, “plundering and devastating the area”. At the rendezvous point they must set up a fortified camp where the string of carts and the captured plunder and prisoners will be concentrated. Going into battle, the troops must not take the string of carts and especially prisoners with them. It’s worth noting that the program of actions is quite logical. Devastating and depopulating the frontier strips guarantees that the enemy will not make a reliable base

for the next raids here. So, in this case it will be possible to prevent a devastating Slavic incursion. However, at the end the author of useful advice recommends “to diligently ask God for help” for a guaranteed victory over the enemy. And this is all due to the fact that “by nature the man is cunning and it is not easy to subdue him”. The Byzantine strategist writes that all the ideas that are given in the treatise are based on “his own experience and the considerations of ancient authors”. Indeed, the recommendations quite correspond to the Roman tactics of the times of the emperor Trajan who conquered Dacia so successfully. But there is also an adjustment for the new enemy; here it is, “personal experience”. It’s worth saying that if the emperors always had an opportunity to observe (and observed) these instructions, they could prevent many misfortunes; however, every emperor had their own reasons for deviating from the written rules which were considered in a comprehensive way.

Slavs in Asia Unlike Danube area and the Balkans, part of Slavs appeared in Asia Minor not at their own wish, but by the will of Byzantine emperors. The territories which were adjacent to the capital from this strategic direction were

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Even now the walls of the Byzantine city Thessaloniki look rather powerful. To the right below is a fresco with the image of a solemn arrival in the city of the emperor Justinianus II who rescued the city from the Slavic threat

constantly devastated by enemies: first by the troops of Iran and later by Arab commanders. They acted according to all the rules of the military science (like the ones which were given above), ravaged the territories of the probable enemy in a preventive way, killing or taking prisoner the population of the frontier areas. It is clear that nobody wanted to move to such a dangerous place voluntarily. We can say that there was only one way for Byzantine emperors to populate these lands somehow – to resettle somebody to them by force. True, in a certain period some of the Slavs crossed the sea and relocated there at their own wish. In 656 some detachment, most likely together with their families (after the mutual with Arabs war against Byzantines) went to Syria for permanent residence where they settled down in the outskirts of the city of Apamea. There are also data that as far back as in 668 AD Slavs who had come here from the outskirts of the Greek city 4

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Thessaloniki (Salonica) settled down in the area of the cities Nicomedia and Nicaea. However, all of them hardly wanted to join the ranks of the defenders of the Byzantine frontiers. People in Constantinople understood well that they could solve the problem of the defense of the borders in Asia only by force. Such an opportunity appeared in 680 AD4. After a victorious campaign against Slavs who had settled down in Macedonia the emperor Justinianus II carried out “clean-up” of the outskirts of the city of Thessaloniki. Different figures are given – 30,000, 80,000 men or 30,000 families were deported, as they would say in the language of the 20th century, to Asia Minor, to Bithynia. Slavs had to expiate their past faults to the empire, first of all, by means of military service in this place. In the three following years Justinianus II gathered a 30-thousand army from among them and armed it. The

“Having come to Thessaloniki, he captured a great number of Slavs and either by force of arms or at their own wish resettled them to the lands of Opsikion beyond Abydos…” this is what is written in “Chronography” of Theophanes Confessor which is one of the main sources thanks to which we found out about the way of life of Slavs in Asia: Феофан. Хронография /перевод В. И. Оболенского и Ф.А. Тарновского, изд. 1884 г. (Theophanes. Chronography / translation by V.I. Obolenskiy and F.A. Tarnovskiy). //http://www.krotov.info/acts/08/3/feofan_00.htm

Section 18. From Ukranenland to Hisn as’Sakaliba

Gold coins of the emperor Justinianus II

commander Nevulon headed it5. The emperor placed a big hope on this army in the next war against Arabs which, as they say, he considered to be won already before its beginning. Diplomatic efforts and generous gifts of the caliph who didn’t want to start battle operations at that time couldn’t prevent the war.

It seems that the emperor thought that the victory over Slavs guaranteed the obedience if not of the warriors, then of the chiefs. The following events showed that the emperor was wrong. In 692 AD the hostile sides clashed in Cilicia, under the walls of the city of Sevastopolis. And here on the eve of a decisive battle the Arab diplomacy worked perfectly. The gold which was rejected by the emperor was accepted by the commander who was to lead Slavs to the battle. The sum is not mentioned, but they write about a quiver for arrows which was filled with gold coins. In any case, the commander of the Slavic detachment cost the treasure of the caliph much less than the emperor of Romei, even if we take into account some additional promises which, according to the chronicler, were given to him besides the payment for the betrayal. After this 20,000 Slavic warriors took the side of the fifth caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, Abd alMalik ibn Marwan, i.e. twothirds of the army which had been gathered by the emperor! Modern historians write that the defectors were headed by the commander Nevulon (or Nebulon). However, the author of “Chronography” doesn’t mention the name of the traitor, he only says that the negotiations were carried on with “the chief of Slavs”. And the text of Theophanes

Byzantine and Arab miniatures with images of warriors 5

Nevulon is exactly how he is called in “Chronography” of Theophanes Confessor, but you can also meet other versions of this name Nebolus, Nemul, Gebul who is also called by some researchers “a Slavic knyaz”. However, in the work of Theophanes you can read: “armed them and called the troops reserve, excessive and appointed Nevulon as their commander”. As we can see, he was a commander, but not a knyaz. Although it is not excluded that a commander could be a knyaz.

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Coins of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (ruled in 685–705 AD), the fifth caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. Probably these very coins were used for paying “the chief of Slavs” before the battle near Sevastopolis

Confessor doesn’t imply in any way that Nevulon and the chief of Slavs is the same person. In any way, after the catastrophe near Sevastopolis the plans of Justinianus II were disrupted. And then the families of the defectors and also the Slavs who remained loyal to the Byzantine Empire were punished – the emperor ordered to extirpate them. According to “Chronography” it happened “near Lefkada, a bluff seaside city, near the Bay of Nicomedia”. All the above described dramatic events occurred almost fourteen centuries ago approximately in the area which tourists like and where they come to have a rest and have some fun on the beaches of the shore of Turkey. By the way, the history of the agricultural world also started in these lands once; Trypillians, distant ancestors of Slavs, are directed connected with it. The defeat in this war cost Justinianus II a lot. Two years hadn’t passed when he lost his throne, was sent to Taurica, to distant Cherson. However, the former emperor continued to spin intrigues, trying to bring back the power, which he actually managed to do later. The decisive argument in the fight for the throne was a huge army of Bulgars and Slavs which came to the walls of Constantinople one fine day, but this is already another story. We know something about the destiny of those Slavs who took the side

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of the enemy of the Byzantine Empire. In Cilicia there is a mention about the fortress Hisn as’Sakaliba which is translated as “the fortress of Slavs”. Probably it is there that the warriors headed by “the chief of Slavs” who had accepted a quiver of gold from the enemy of Justinianus II settled down. We also know about Slavic settlements in Bithynia and Syria where they existed for some 200–250 years after the battle near Sevastopolis. Slavs-Sakaliba who lived in Asia were mentioned on the pages of the works of Arab historians and even in poetic works of that epoch many times. Perhaps a time will come when the fortress Hisn as Sakaliba is restored (and its ruins were preserved) and tourists including the ones from Slavic countries will come here. Just like tourists who come to look at Ukranenland now. Adornments which were found in Slavic settlements of the 7th–the 8th century. The territory of Transylvania

Section 19

In the outskirts of Khazaria lmost fourteen centuries ago a considerable part of the Land appeared in the boundaries of the next “steppe empire”, the Khazar khaganate. For a few hundreds of years it is Khazaria and the Byzantine Empire that considered themselves the lawful and real rulers of the lands of Taurica, the steppes and not only the steppes between the Danube and the Siversky Donets. Much has been written about the role and the place of the state of Khazars in the history of the Land; and the versions of researchers are sometimes contrary. To say nothing that they hardly correspond to the views on the history of Khazars themselves or some of their nearest neighbors. The range of views concerning the role of Khazaria in the medieval history is rather wide. Some people described it as the biggest Eurasian state which brought the values and amenities of the civilization (including spiritual ones) to their neighbors. Others considered the khaganate to be the nest of robbers which bellicose Kyiv knyazes from Oleg the Prophet to Sviatoslav were just forced to burn down with red-hot iron. The image of Khazaria which was restored according to the data of archeological excavations is not that motley, but is equally contradictory than the one which was created by historians. However, it supplements the general picture to a considerable extent. And the finds, as usual, make you think about how everything could really be.

A

The Celestial Empire gives the go-ahead If the ruler of Bulgaria, khan Kubrat, received the tile of Patricius from the emperor of the Byzantine Empire in 632 AD, then his counterpart, the ruler of Khazars received the confirmation of the legitimacy of his title (“khagan”) from the emperor of distant China approximately at the same time1. Thus for the first time the territories of the Land appeared in the area of interest of not only the empire of Romei, but also of the Celestial Empire at the same time. Formally, from the point of view of legal relations of that epoch, the Patricius and the khagan could be considered subjects of rulers who conferred them the mentioned above titles. So, the border between the two empires lay where the territories of Bulgars and Khazars were contiguous. Some time later Khazars reached the frontiers of the

Byzantine Empire in Taurica. Thus the circumstances were such that (for a few hundreds of years) the ByzantineChinese border formally lay on the territory of the Land. The first mentions about the appearance of Khazars (sometimes the name “Turks” is used with the same meaning in written sources) in the Caucasus is dated to either the end of the 6th century or the beginning of the

The Khazar khaganate and its campaigns against neighbors (dates and enemies are indicated near arrows)

1

You can find more details in the work: О. В. Комар. Населення степів Північного Причорномор’я VI — початку VIII ст. — К., 2002 (O.V. Komar. The population of the steppes of Northern Black Sea region of the 6th–the beginning of the 8th century).

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Polans bring tribute to Khazars in the form of swords. The miniature from the Radziwill Chronicle, the 15th century

7th century. They managed to unite a lot of peoples who roamed in the steppes between the Volga and the Dnieper, lived in the foothills of the Crimea and the Caucasus – Alans, Bulgars and Ugrics into a common state. Numerous and well-armed horse units appeared under the control of khagans of the dynasty Ashina. The borders of the khaganate were constantly changing as a result of victories or defeats in practically endless wars with neighbors. There were times when in the South its borders included the territory of Georgia, the shore of the Sea of Azov and a big part of Taurica, in the East they reached the Aral Sea. A lot of peoples started calling the Caspian Sea the Khazar Sea then. In the North the borders of Khazaria reached the Murom forests and Chernihiv and in the West, as they think, they were lost somewhere in the interfluve of the Dnieper and the Dniester. This state which was founded in the first half of the 7th century existed for more than three hundred years and left a noticeable imprint on the history of the Land. In the chronicle there is a legend about how Polans in response to the demand to pay tribute sent Khazars one sword per “house”, i.e. from every homestead in order to frighten the too bellicose neighbors. The chronicler wrote down that it produced an impression. Khazars allegedly pondered over it and even decided that it was Polans who were destined to “rule” them in the future. The “prophecy” came true in bare outlines about three hundred years later, but the real history of the relations of Slavs and Khazars is not very similar to this beautiful annalistic legend.

The traces of the state Khazaria After the epoch of Khazars and their state in our land there remained not only ruins, graves and rusty weapons (within the boundaries of Ukraine they constitute the complex of the Saltov or Saltovo-Mayaki archeological culture), but also treasures of gold and silver. These antiquities have been studied for more than one

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A mirror and products of bronze from burial grounds of the Saltov culture

hundred years. For this time they haven’t only excavated numerous ancient burial places, but they have also excavated the remains of ancient settlements and ordinary settlements. Gradually archeologists managed to determine that the antiquities which were connected with Khazaria mostly belonged to peoples who didn’t call themselves Khazars, had different customs and led a different way of life. Among them there were Alans, Bulgars, Hungarians, Slavs and plenty of other peoples and tribes. Each of them occupied not only their own territory, but also their own place in the complex hierarchy of the huge state. It wouldn’t be quite right to say that the Saltov culture was created solely by Khazars. It absorbed customs, traditions, technical achievements of many peoples. Among them there were not only nomadic tribes including Bulgars, but also the descendants of Alans who had settled down in the land long before. That’s why to call all the bearers of the Saltov culture “Khazars” would be the same as calling all the subjects of the equally multinational Byzantine Empire Greeks or Romei. The ceramics of the grey color which was made on a potter’s wheel is “the Alan contribution”, just like mirrors that were cast of bronze; their prototypes can be found as far back as in the Sarmatian time. Among the prodA jug, the Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

Section 19. In the outskirts of Khazaria the Siversky Donets. Probably they correspond to the tribal (and partially the administrative) division of this part of the khaganate.

Fragments of the belt of a warrior from a burial place of the Saltov culture

ucts of metal there are things which are similar to the products of craftsmen from the distant East, even from Siberia; this is the heritage of Turkic tribes, to be more exact Khazars. Weapons, a horse harness (including stirrups) are a synthesis of the achievements of nomads of the Eurasian steppes and their neighbors of the time of the great migration of peoples. All in all more than one thousand monuments of the Saltov archeological culture have been known and a few hundreds of them are situated on the territory of the Land. These are the remains of ancient settlements and castles (including the ones with stone fortifications), villages and burial grounds and also treasures. Sometimes it is possible to determine the belonging of these or those antiquities to certain peoples who were included into the Khazar khaganate. The differences in the funeral rite are especially noticeable. First of all it concerns the construction of graves. Archeologists who studied funeral complexes offered to distinguish a few local variants of the Saltov culture. One of them is situated in the Crimea, another in Sea of Azov area and still other occupies the lands along

The descendants of Sarmatian tribes In the outskirts of big villages they sometimes find separate cemeteries and each of them has their own ritual. When they found burial places in catacombs near Kharkiv, in the village of Upper Saltov, researchers paid attention to two circumstances at once. The first one consisted in the fact that similar graves were excavated in the Northern Caucasus where they are connected with Alans. They also found similar ceramics of the grey color which was made on a potter’s wheel. The number of catacombs which were studied only in the burial ground near Upper Saltov already amounts to a few hundreds (and the total number, according to researchers, amounts to almost 45,000). You could get into the burial construction through the corridor–dromos which was often built from the side of the slope of the beam along which a burial ground was situated. If the descent was very steep, they cut out steps right in the clay. At the end of the dromos an underground chamber–catacomb was built.

The location of burial grounds of the Saltov culture which were mentioned in the text

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Bronze products which were found in Alan burial places. The Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century Objects from burial places of the Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

The entrance to it was closed with stones or with the help of a shutter–“door” which was made of wood. The hatch was rather small, for example, 0.4×0.5 m. The height of the catacomb amounted to one and a half or more meters and the dimensions were 2.5×1.5 m. The corridor and in some cases the catacomb itself were filled with ground thoroughly. It is not easy to find such an object. However, sometimes a crypt–catacomb was turned into a family tomb; they find the bones of a few dead people there. These crypts resemble the crypts in mountainous Taurica to a certain extent. They put mostly jugs into graves; however, quite different vessels were found in settlements. The jug was, as a rule, at the head of a dead man. Besides vessels, they found different adornments in burial places – necklaces of colored stones and glass, bronze or silver mirrors, cast products of bronze which used to be parts of ceremonial costumes. Since all these openwork products which were connected with chains were found near buried people, there was an opportunity to determine how they had been worn. It turned out that they had been worn near the belt. Since the ancient costume didn’t provide for pockets, quite a lot of small objects were worn on a bunch which was held by numerous chains – something like a huge key ring, but not only with keys. It happened that dead people Necklaces from burial places of the Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

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were supplied with coins. Silver dirgems from the territory of the Arab caliphate which were minted in the 8th–the 9th century prevail. However, a big number of shining silver round objects were used as constituent parts of adornments. In order to do this they made one or two openings in them. Sometimes even wire rings which connected coins were preserved. On some skeletons they find numerous bronze adenophores–rattles. They were sewed on clothes. Thanks of oxides of metals the remains of ancient fabric were preserved. They found even silk which had been made in distant China; it was an article of luxury in those times. Female burial places are accompanied with necklaces which were made of colored stones and glass, silver and bronze temporal rings, bracelets. Graves of warriors were found in catacomb burial grounds. They were accompanied with weapons, most often massive battle axes, sometimes sabers and also the remains of belts which were adorned with removable bronze, silver (depending on the rank and wealth of the owner) plates. Sometimes the burial place

Section 19. In the outskirts of Khazaria

Products of craftsmen from the settlements of the Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century. Such chains were used to fasten the necessary things from a mirror to keys to the belt

of the battle horse, the remains of a horse harness were found nearby. Among the finds of usual iron stirrups the products which had been hopelessly broken as far back as in the ancient times attracted attention. For instance, in this case stirrups were crushed and twisted almost in the form of “a corkscrew”. You can also see bent swords and broken sabers. Such a custom of the ritual damage of things is connected with an ancient tradition of nomadic peoples to damage especially dangerous products from the set of funeral gifts and first of all these are weapons and parts of military equipage. Not only weapons and harnesses were made unfit for use; sometimes they also find broken metal mirrors.

Neighbors-Bulgars Not all the descendants of the subjects of the great khan Kubrat2 went to seek their fortune in some other lands. Part of them, just like Iron stirrups which were deliberately damaged during a funeral rite. An Alan burial place, the Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

before, continued to roam in the steppes. It seemed that they didn’t care about disputes of rulers. Whoever was superior there, i.e. the higher authority, it didn’t actually change the life in the steppes to a great extent. In winter they had to drive flocks and herds to the South, to the shore of the Sea of Azov or to Taurica, in a hot summer they had to hurry to move on to the grass which hadn’t been burnt by the sun yet in Northern pastures in the valley of the Siversky Donets or the Dnieper. Near winter and summer nomad camps and also cities and villages archeologists find numerous burial places of nomads who were not very wealthy. They buried dead people in pits that’s why you can meet the expression “a pit burial ground” in archeological literature. Of course, such burial grounds have no direct connection with the ancient Yamna culture; the only thing is that they are found practically in the same places. The scales of such necropolises strike the imagination. It is thought that the area of the Netaylivka burial ground could A find from a amount to about 14 hectares and Bulgar burial there were up to 15,000 burial place. The Saltov places there! And it is not surprisculture, the ing as both the Netaylivka and 8th–the 9th century Saltov burial grounds are situated in the outskirts of a huge city3. Researchers paid attention to the fact that sometimes human bones lay by far not in the anatomical order; some parts were missing. It was assumed that first a dead man was left either on the surface or in a pit which was not completely filled with ground and then they came back and finished the rite.

A belt of a warrior from an Alan burial place. The Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

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You can find more details about khan Kubrat and Great Bulgaria in the section: “Bulgaria in the Pontic steppes”. You can find more details about the ancient city in the section: “About the settlements of Khazaria”.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Bits from burial places of Alan warriors. The Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

The utensils of these graves are more modest. The vessels are mostly of the “Alan” production – small jugs, although you can also find molded vessels. Bronze casting is from the same source. There are burial places of warriors. The only thing is that their equipage is not so wealthy; instead of a horse, they only find a skull and some bones. The belts are more modest, though you can find quite decent ones. Probably they belonged to elders, distinguished warriors. A fragment of the belt of a warrior from a Bulgar burial place. The Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

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Bracelets and pendants from a Bulgar burial place. The Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

Women’s adornments are mostly simple; some of them were just made of the pieces of wire. The interesting thing is that they also find women’s adornments which are similar to the ones which were spread among their neighbors-Slavs. Probably some women came from there, from the tribes of the residents of the North, Radimichs, Vyatichi and others. It seems that the life of ordinary nomads Bulgars didn’t look very wealthy even in the times of the flourishing of the state of Khazars.

Section 20 “Oleg, the wise Prince, roused to arm, Cried: "Vengeance on the ruthless horde Of raiding Chosars! Field and farm My men shall put to fire and sword!” (A.S. Pushkin. “The Song of the Wise Oleg”, 1822)

About the settlements of Khazaria verything seems fine in these lines, but if you have a deeper insight into the text, you will notice certain contradictions. On the one hand, it is written that unreasonable Khazars-nomads are inclined to violent raids. On the other hand, how can nomads have fields (grain fields) and especially villages? They are supposed to live in yurts and to drive flocks of sheep and herds of horses from one pasture to another. Grain growers usually live where there are villages and fields and they seem to be quite peaceful by nature. But the bellicose Kyiv knyaz devastates only villages, burns down grain fields which Khazars couldn’t have. And he doesn’t attack nomads’ camps and doesn’t capture herds of fast horses, which, from the point of view of a decrease of battle might of the enemy, would look more justified and reasonable. However, the poet who wrote his poem before the beginning of the archeological study of the traces of Khazaria was right: it turned out later that the organizers of violent raids had not only villages and fields, but even real cities. And these cities were so big that Kyiv of the times of Oleg the Prophet looked rather modest if compared to them.

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Nomads’ camps and villages Archeologists managed to find and excavate the remains of different populated places of that time. It was the most difficult to find steppe nomads’ camps of Bulgars and other tribes. Not so many traces remained from them – hearths, bones of animals, a little broken glass. You can find such things on summer or winter camps which are situated, as a rule, on the banks of small rivers or near the shore. There are objects which were called by archeologists “the populated strip”. This is when on a strip of the shore with the length of 20–30 km there are finds of fragments of ceramics and bones of animals. It took a few seasons in order to excavate the remains of a small settlement near the village of Zhovtneve in the Kharkiv region in the 1950s of the 20th century. They didn’t have to dig too deep – most finds were discovered at a depth of not more than 40 cm. Holes

and foundation pits from dwellings had a considerable depth, sometimes more than a meter here. Homesteads were a typical pattern of the development of this village, i.e. dwellings, outbuildings and even craftsmen’s constructions were situated in certain groups. Dwellings had rather modest dimensions: from three–four meters in length and in width. Sometimes under the walls they found the traces of blocks which were once dug in vertically and represented the walls of dwellings. This wood was probably coated with clay; there wasn’t any other way to cover wall chinks. Such a construction which was partly hidden in the ground protected from wind and conserved heat well. A battle axe from a burial place of a Bulgar warrior. The Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

The remains of a stove from a dwelling in a settlement of the Saltov culture and the section of its construction, excavations of the 1950s of the 20th century

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Bottoms of vessels with “marks”. The Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

The stoves of the local residents were made of the local limestone and were situated in the corner, usually in the northeastern one with their fire chamber to the south. These constructions with average dimensions of 1×1 m resemble stone stoves of the Prague culture. Sometimes stoves were built on a foundation which was cut out of clay; in this case, they were raised over the earthy floor by 30–40 cm. In the filling of foundation pits of constructions and around them they found thousands of fragments of ceramics which were mostly made on a potter’s wheel. Marksamulets which were made at the bottom of pots – a ring with a cross, a rectangle and other signs represent interest. Part of pots are decorated with wavy lines which are drawn in the upper part of vessels. They resemble not numerous Slavic ceramics of the 8th–the 9th century which were made on a potter’s wheel. Potters worked directly in a settlement. They found groups of constructions among which they excavated an appropriate workshop with a two-tier potter’s furnace. Smiths also lived and worked here; they provided neighbors with all the necessary instruments – hoes, sickles, axes, to say nothing about small products like knives or nails. The residents of such villages didn’t roam and worked the land, bred cattle in the surrounding pastures since there were enough plots of land in the Forest-steppe then. The finds of iron hoes were discovered not only during excavations of burial grounds, but also in A sickle and an iron hoe, instruments of grain growers of the Saltov culture

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settlements. There was a lot of grain; it was stored in pits and ground on millstones which were found among the remains of dwellings. Each village provided itself with all the necessary things and what they couldn’t make in their village (bronze casting, adornments) was exchanged in cities. Life was rather wealthy if the local residents afforded to buy amphorae with wine which had been brought from many hundred kilometers away. The settlement near Zhovtneve didn’t have any fortifications; so, it relied on certain protection, the presence of some reliable and safe shelter nearby. And the period of the life of the settlement falls on the 8th–the 9th century, the times of the strengthening of the position of the khaganate in this region. Slavs–Polans and the residents of the North didn’t make destructive raids and paid Khazars tribute in a timely way. And Oleg the Prophet could as well carry out a raid against the owners of fields, subjects of the Khazar khagan.

A potter’s workshop in the gully of Kantsirka As far back as during the construction of Dniprostal archeologists excavated the remains of 10 potter’s furnaces in the gully of Kantsirka. Then it turned out that they found by far not all of them that’s why in the middle of the 1950s of the 20th century it was decided to carry out new researches which lasted for more than a decade. By

A heap of broken, defective vessels which were found near potter’s furnaces in the gully of Kantsirka

Section 20. About the settlements of Khazaria

A view on the location of the gully of Kantsirka

that time the lower part of the gully had already been flooded, but there was still enough space for excavations. New furnaces were found three kilometers from the ones which were found in 1929–31. The total number of furnaces which had been studied by archeologists amounted to almost three dozens. These were big, two-tier constructions which were cut out of clay on a slope of the gully. They consisted of a fire chamber and a cauldron with air holes over which a massive dome was built in ancient times. The diameter of furnaces was more than 1.5 m. Nearby they found whole heaps of wastes of production, fragments of broken glass of different types. Here there were fragments of big jugs with a high neck and three handles (up to 75 cm high) and also jugs which resembled a ball, with a wide neck and one handle. The local craftsmen also made big vessels–pithoi for storing supplies which were decorated with cylinders and drawn lines. At the bottom of some products there were “marks” in the form of a ring and a cross in the center. All the vessels were made on a fast potter’s wheel of well-prepared clay. You could notice an admixture of organic matter and fine sand in it. Probably the raw materials were taken somewhere near the potter’s furnaces and the workshops themselves were situated in the same place. Such vessels are widely known thanks to archeological excavations in the Northern Caucasus and in Prykubanye. They are dated there mostly to the 8th century and are found in Alan settlements.

The remains of potter’s furnaces which were found in the gully of Kantsirka

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A view on the location of the ancient settlement near the village of Upper Saltov, the picture of the 1950s of the 20th century

A stone with images. The Saltov culture

A question arises: for what reason did Alan potters went so far to the Dnieper in order to make here pots, jugs and even pithoi in large quantities? They hardly made them here “for export”. Since it is quite difficult to transport such big and at the same time fragile things for some more or less decent distance. Probably nearby there was a big settlement, say, somewhere on the bank of the Dnieper? Its residents, if they practiced agriculture, might as well need pithoi. Jugs with three handles are convenient for water, smaller jugs are necessary in any farmstead, they are also necessary as funeral gifts. Ceramic products

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from Kantsirka might be useful not only for the residents of the settlement, but also for nomads who regularly visited these lands in summer. Since this production center is situated in the northern areas of the Steppe. By the way, a similar find was also discovered on the left bank of the Dnieper, on the territory of the Poltava region, near the village of Machukhy. There they found a furnace with the same vessels as in Kantsirka. So, herds were supposed to be driven to the North in summer when it became too hot in the steppes in the South. In a certain season nomads could exchange vessels which were necessary for their life here. By the way, workshops also worked in a certain season, also when it was warm. In winter both craftsmen and buyers could go to the South, to the warm sea. And potter’s centers stayed (probably under the supervision of neighbors-grain growers) till the next season. On the whole, the scales of such entrepreneurship look quite impressive.

The cities of northwestern Khazaria However, not only villages, nomads’ camps and potter’s workshops are known in the area of the spreading of the Saltov culture. There were also big cities and even fortresses in these distant and seemingly peaceful and safe outskirts of Khazaria. Their fortifications were not only made of ground, but were also built of stone. Sometimes they used ancient settlements of the Scythian time which had been abandoned long before, having restored the defense constructions.

Section 20. About the settlements of Khazaria

The location of the settlements of the Saltov culture which were mentioned in the text

The Saltov ancient settlement near Kharkiv is the biggest one among those which have been studied on the territory of the Land1. It is situated on a high (in some places up to 20 m) bank of the Siversky Donets. Its total area amounts to 120 hectares, i.e. it is not inferior in terms of sizes to Kyiv of the second half of the 10th–the beginning of the 11th century which at that time was already the capital of Rus. The ancient settlement was enclosed with an earth rampart from the North, the West and the South and from the East they cut the slope which was already steep at an angle of 45°. Its territory was divided by a ditch into the 1

Excavations of a dwelling-half-dugout in the Saltov ancient settlement

The description of the ancient settlement, the history of its discovery and study (just like the nearby necropolises) are given in detail in the article: А. В. Крыганов. Крупный пункт (город) Хазарии// Восточноевропейский археологический журнал, 2001. — №1(8) (A.V. Kryganov. The big point (city) of Khazaria// The Eastern European archeological journal): http://www. archaeology.kiev.ua/journal

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Excavations of fortifications of the citadel in the Saltov ancient settlement, the 1950s of the 20th century

The remains of fortifications in the Saltov ancient settlement, excavations of the 1950s of the 20th century

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southern and the eastern parts. In the southern part there was a rather small citadel – all in all 100×140 m. It was a construction with walls and towers which were made of stone. The foundations of walls were preserved; they were laid with plates and the space between them was filled with crushed and small stones on clay mortar. The thickness of the walls of the citadel amounted to 4 m in some places. It’s worth mentioning that the plates were partially dressed (from the tope side) and they were rather big. It is thought that the height of the walls of the citadel could amount to 10–12 m. A rectangular foundation with the sizes of almost 6×3 m remained from one of the excavated towers. Basing on the described above parameters, this fortress could compete with the best Byzantine strongholds of Taurica. The development of the Saltov ancient settlement suggests that representatives of different tribes lived here – Alans, Bulgars. The latter are connected with the traces of the bases of yurts which were found during excavations. They are deepened in the ground for 20–50 cm and are rounded in plan with a diameter of 3–4 m. Along the edge of the foundation pit they find in some places pits from posts of the framework which were dug in the ground. It seems that these constructions stayed in one place for quite a long time. Besides yurts, the city was adorned with constructions with a framework structure of walls after which post pits remained along the perimeter. It is thought that the walls of these constructions were made of bunches of

Section 20. About the settlements of Khazaria

An exposition which is dedicated to the Saltov culture. The local history museum, the city of Kharkiv

cane, covering it from inside and outside with clay. By the way, a similar way of the construction of walls was indicated probably for the last time by ethnographers in the Kyiv region as far back as in the 19th century! Among the buildings there were also the so-called “half-dugouts” which were also spread in settlements of the rural type. So, the development of the city in Upper Saltov (and other big cities of northwestern Khazaria) in terms of diversity was not inferior to the picture which had been formed one thousand odd years before within the boundaries of the Belsk ancient settlement, in the city of Gelonus of the Scythian time2. Just like in ancient times, each resident in

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such a city built a dwelling and lived according to the customs of their tribe – in above-ground buildings, halfdugouts or in yurts which were usual for nomads. Researchers tried to find in ancient documents the name of this city which was huge according to the standards of that time. Since besides the fortified part with the area of 120 hectares it also had “suburbs” the traces of which are found within 3 kilometers around it. There were two huge burial grounds nearby: the Alan one with catacombs (according to some calculations there were up to 45,000 of them) and the Bulgar one with burial places in pits probably up to 15,000 graves). In burial

You can find more details about the Belsk ancient settlement and its look in the chapter 1, section: “The Country of forgotten cities”.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus places they found objects which had been brought from the depth of Asia, Northern Africa, Central Europe, not to mention the Caucasus and Povolzhye. It means that the city near Upper Saltov was visited by merchants, probably even by Arab ones who, as a rule, liked to describe their distant journeys. It would be surprising if such a big city hadn’t left memories of itself in the works of contemporaries. Arab merchants (and their journeys are dated to the 9th–the 10th century) among the cities of Khazaria mention the populated place called Sarada; there is also such a name as Savgar. It is thought that in the Turkic language these names could sound as “Salrada” and “Savgalrt”. Some scientists even think that these names sound similarly to the name of the village which is situated in this area now, “Saltov”. In the steppes there are also smaller ancient settlements which are fortified with earth ramparts. Their area amounts to 25–30 hectares. There are also fortresses which once occupied high capes; they are sometimes called castles. Stone walls of some of them amount to 4–5 m in terms of thickness. There was masonry, consisting of two

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Ceramics of the Saltov culture

rows of big stones the space between which was filled with rubble. Usually walls formed a triangle which was extended in the direction of a field. All this rather complex system – nomads’ camps, villages, production centers, cities, fortresses-castles didn’t appear at once, but was a result of purposeful efforts, was formed due to certain historical events for more than one hundred years.

Section 21

Steppe “treasures” robably most of treasures with precious things which were found on the territory of Ukraine appeared in the ground during the 7th–the 8th century. The biggest of them amount to hundreds of things; the weight of gold which was found in the ground and silver was calculated in terms of poods in a certain period and some treasures even received their own names: Glodosy, Martynivka, Pereshchepyna, Voznesenka… Precious vessels, adornments, weapons adorned with gold, coins. And these things sometimes originate from distant countries and cities the names of which sound almost in a fairy way now: the Byzantine Empire, Persia, Constantinople, Damascus, Bagdad… Scientists still argue about the fact to the rulers of which peoples these treasures belonged. They were found mostly accidentally, but, nonetheless, they are key witnesses of the times about which too few records of the eyewitnesses of the ancient history of the Land remained. Part of the treasures is connected with the epoch when the Khazar khaganate reigned undividedly in the steppes of this part of Europe.

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Treasures or burial places? The word treasure in the name of this section is enclosed in parentheses for a reason. Since the precious things which were found in the ground represented “treasures” solely from the point of view of the people who found them and knew exactly the main signs of such fortune: there must be a lot of gold and silver in a treasure (the more, the better), a treasure must be hidden well and you can find it only accidentally. This is how it happened in most cases. Part of finds appeared to be metal accessories of military equipage and horse harnesses – different gold and silver pendants, straps which were fastened to leather belts. Such a set of things is typical for the steppe population, which has been pointed out more than once by experts who didn’t admit the Slavic belonging of treasures. Besides, they also wrote and said that it was not typical of the steppe residents to bury their treasures at all. Since if you have a closer look, then all these steppe treasures don’t really look like treasures at all. It is these experts who determined that in some cases we are speaking not about buried treasures, but about funeral gifts. Most scientists agreed with this conclusion. The

disputes were mostly connected with the fact who exactly and when performed these rites and also whose funeral feast it was in this or that place. Debates about the owners of these “treasures” which belonged to the so-called “Pereshchepyna circle” (in

The place of the find of “the treasures” of the 7th–the 8th century

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus accordance with the name of one of them) have been conducted for long. The range of views is impressive: they wrote that these were the treasures of Antes-Slavs or of Bulgar khans Kubrat or Asparuh who are well known from historical sources. However, lately part of these finds have been distinguished as the separate “Pereshchepyna culture” which was connected with Khazars1.

The find on the construction site in Dniprelstan One of such debatable “treasures” was found near the village of Voznesenka during the construction of Dniprestan. It happened in distant 1930. To the east of the mentioned above village they started the work connected with the preparation of the so-called “site A”. Another industrial giant of the first five-year plan could be built where the local residents plowed their fields for centuries2. The process of the preparation of the construction site included the planning of the surface with the sizes of 3×4 kilometers, i.e. with an area of 12 square kilometers. Fortunately for archeologists (and also for the antiquities) the builders didn’t have such powerful excavation equipment like modern excavators or bulldozers at that time. That’s why earthwork operations were carried out manually. Thousands of workers from morning till evening dug tons of ground and then it was moved from one place to another with the help of transport the power of which amounted to two horsepowers at best. Plate negatives in which the process and the results of the excavations and also some of the finds are depicted have survived to this day in the scientific archives of the

Institute of Archeology. The place which was selected for the future industrial giant was situated on an elevation. According to the words of the participants of the excavations, you could see the suburbs for a distance of up to 15 km from it. As a rule, such elevations were chosen in ancient times for funerals and solemn rites. The same thing happened to “site A”. You could still notice burial mounds on the surface which were excavated first of all. They studied more than three dozens of burial mounds and the burial places which were found there covered the period of a few thousand years from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. In Dnieper area (and not only there) we know quite a lot of places where burials were carried out for millenniums, often starting from the Neolithic Age. Evidently peoples, cultures changed, but the views about the special status of such a territory were preserved. Builders removed the ground from all the area that’s why archeologists paid attention not only to the burial mounds, but also to objects which wouldn’t be studied under other circumstances at all. Scientists turned their attention to a small section with the sizes of only 35×18 meters which remained partly unplowed. Already at a depth of 20 cm from the surface researchers found an accumulation of stones which didn’t let the local residents use this place properly. They understood at once that this was not a natural formation, but the remains of an ancient construction. Although on the Dnieper there are quite a lot of places of the extraction of stone, but in the plateau near Voznesenka limestone was brought from 20–30 km away, there were no nearer deposits of such a stone. The fact that the stones were not worked doesn’t mean anything. Since unknown builders used them to make banks which enclosed a rather big site.

“Site A” before the beginning of the excavations. The banks of mounds are noticeable. The picture of 1930 1

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You can find more details about the belonging of the Pereshchepyna “treasure” to khan Kubrat in the section: “Bulgaria in the Pontic steppes”. The process of the excavations and the finds were described in detail only in 1950: В. А. Грінченко. Пам’ятка VIII ст. коло с. Вознесенки на Запоріжжі// Археологія, 1950. — Т. І. (V.A. Grinchenko. The monument of the 8th century near the village of Voznesenka in the Zaporizhia region).

Section 21. Steppe “treasures”

The process of the excavations of a stone construction in Voznesenka, 1930

When the cleaning of the remains of stone banks was finished, they were able to look at the whole ancient construction. The width of the banks which were preserved in some places for 80–90 cm amounted to 10–11 m. The dimensions of the construction (according to the external perimeter) amounted to 82×51 m. The long sides near the foundation were connected with a straight bank and at the top the straight arch was rounded, resembling a temple apse. In order to make it they had to move quite a lot of stones –

about two thousand cubic meters. Such labor costs can be compared to the efforts which were necessary in a certain period for building funeral constructions of Scythian rulers. In the area which is limited by the stone bank (which amounted to about 1,800 m2) they found bones of horses; there were more than 800 of them. They also found not numerous fragments of ceramics, among them there were parts of broken amphorae. The fact that these finds were scattered in the whole area can be explained: the village res-

The angle of the stone construction and the process of the archeological excavations in Voznesenka, 1930

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The general view of the construction which was excavated in Voznesenka in 1930

idents did manage to plow some part of the land inside the enclosure. The good thing is that they didn’t have tractors; otherwise the remains of the ancient construction would have been destroyed before the appearance of archeologists. In order to indicate in the plan the construction itself and the finds, the researchers had to divide all the area into squares which covered the excavations site with a net. Each square received its own number after which it was not difficult to find it in the plan and to understand where this or that thing including every separate bone was found. This plan together with the net of squares was never published. The most important finds were discovered in square 59.

Treasures in square 59 In square 59 they found a pit which had been dug in the times of the construction of the stone banks. First they came across two strips of rusty metal which jutted out from the ground. They were about three centimeters wide. A little deeper they found a whole accumulation of rusty iron things. It turned out that the pit contained plenty of things which had been put in a few layers once. First archeologists cleaned everything there very carefully and then they gradually disassembled the find, trying to understand what and how everything had been put in ancient times.

The plan of the remains of the funeral temple which was studied in Voznesenka in 1930 (according to V.A. Grinchenko)

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Section 21. Steppe “treasures” A bent sword from a nomad’s burial place

Two strips of iron which were found first appeared to be the remains of two blades. They found the remains of three similar products in the complex. They were straight and sharpened from one side. Their length amounted to from 75 to 83 cm together with hilts. They are often called “sabers”, but the absence of even a small bend in these blades allows calling these products broadswords. So, three blades were once stuck at an angle into the things which were piled here. You could easily notice the traces of fire on all finds; once these things were in the flame of a huge fire. Describing the find, researchers indicated three layers of things. The upper layer consisted of the remains of 58 stirrups which were sufficient for 29 horses. Since they found 40 bits in the middle layer, we have a shortage of stirrups. The middle layer also consisted of other products of iron. Among them were tri-blade points of arrows, nails, rings and other things which were mostly connected with military equipage. The most precious things were put in the lower part of the pit. Most of all here they found pendants which once adorned the outfit of a warrior and his battle horse, to be more exact, horses since there were more than 1,400 pendants with different forms. The base of pendants was made of bronze and the surface was adorned with thin plates of gold and silver. It is beautiful, shining and at the same time

A dagger with a blade encrusted with gold. The Glodosy “treasure”

rather economical. The parts of broadswords, the remains of crosspieces (iron ones, but coated with gold), fragments of gold facing of hilts also appeared here. One of them was topped with a lion head. They also found parts of sheaths which were also made of gold. Straps and clasps for belts made of gold on which these broadswords were once worn lay beside. On some of the belts daggers were also worn; they found two of them. One blade was preserved in a rather good condition: it was made of iron and was sharpened only from one side and its blade was Gold adornment bent, resembling a medieval of a sheath, Voznesenka. The yataghan with respect to its beginning of the 8th form. The interesting thing is century that the blade is adorned with incrustation of gold. Its décor is simple and undemanding: four circles with a dot in the center which are connected with “barbed wire” were preserved. Two such images are situated together near the base of the hilt, two more images on the blade itself; probably there were three of them, but the blade is broken.

Iron plates of the equipage which were found during excavations of the burial place under the mound on “site A”

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus The view of the contents of the pit in square 59 (according to V.A. Grinchenko)

Besides, in the lower layer of the pit they found buttons, straps for belts, plenty of fragments of plates, different things which were once fasted to the surface of products that had been burnt in the fire; all of them were made of precious metals. It turned out to be difficult to determine the purpose of a few things which were found among them and to connect them with the rest of the finds which belonging to warriors-nomads aroused no doubt. A burnt figure of a lion, an eagle which was preserved well, silver plates with images (all of them were definitely made in the Byzantine Empire) don’t match a standard set of military equipage of a noble steppe commander.

Animals and birds from Byzantine banners Indeed how could a silver eagle which once crowned the banner of the legion appear in the middle of the steppe, many hundred kilometers from the borders of the Byzantine Empire? The height of the product is about 13 cm and its weight is 1,035 g. The eagle was cast in silver (the figure is hollow), in the eyes there were insertions of colored stones (or glass) once. Its legs are entwined by a snake which is trying to bite the noble bird. The eagle is adorned with Christian symbols and a cross with a monogram is carved on its breast. It is similar to the ones which you can meet on Byzantine rings. These inscriptions contained an “encoded” name of the owner and also his title if he had any. The monogram on the breast

This is what the treasures looked like when they were discovered in the pit of square 59, the picture of 1930

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A silver eagle, the top of the banner from the Voznesenka “treasure”

Section 21. Steppe “treasures”

The plan of the location of archeological objects on “site A”. The legend: 1 — the stone enclosure, the remains of the funeral temple; 2 — mounds with burial places (according to V.A. Grinchenko)

of the eagle was interpreted as the name “Petron” (although there are others variants of its reading). Such a figure was supposed to top the staff of the banner-mark the construction of which also included other metal products, gold and silver. You can find out what the banner looked like on the whole if you have a closer look at the gold solidi of the 4th century. Below the eagle cloth of colored (as a rule, red) fabric on which you could read the number of the legion was fastened to the staff; later, starting from the times of the emperor Constantine the Great, they began depicting a monogram with the name of Christ on it. And lower, under the cloth, there were war

decorations which had been received by the legion for the participation in battles, sieges and assaults of hostile strongholds; they were fasted to the staff. These were plates, either round or rectangular. The set which was found in square 59 could be used for creating at least two such banners which were topped with the image of an eagle and a lion. History hasn’t preserved records about the coming of Byzantine troops to the Dnieper rapids. However, people in Constantinople knew about the existence of these rapids and one of the educated emperors even described them in his treatise about the management of the state. Another version consists in the fact that there are trophies which were captured by the victorious troops of the adversaries of the Byzantine Empire. But the things from Voznesenka were dated to approximately 700–725 AD. However, in this period the residents of the steppes of the Land were allies and not enemies of the Empire. They by combined efforts tried to offer residence to powerful armies and the comA monogram which was carved on the breast of the silver eagle

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A scheme of the location of the parts on the Byzantine banner and the finds from Voznesenka. To the left is a coin with the image of the emperor with the legion banners

manders of the Arab caliphate. Then probably these flags were once handed to allies-Khazars as symbolic gifts which called to battle operations and glorious victories over the common enemy? Such a tradition is known for

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later times; let’s remember, for example, Zaporizhia Cossacks who received flags from the rulers of neighboring states which wanted to hire the glorious army for their service.

Section 21. Steppe “treasures” The appearance of Byzantine flags somewhere near Derbent could really produce an impression of Arab commanders. True, it is quite difficult to imagine the Khazar troops which go to a battle under the banners with Christian symbols. However, the khagan had subjectsChristians, for example, Alan tribes from the Caucasus. Such flags could really be suitable for them. And maybe advisers-commanders and even “a limited military contingent” were sent from Constantinople to the East? For now the riddle of the military regalia from square 59 hasn’t been solved to the end.

The initial version: the military camp and the lost battle The first conclusions were made and published by the participants of the excavations. In their opinion, the composition of the finds suggests that they belonged to one or a few warriors who, beyond any doubt, couldn’t die at the same in a natural way”. In other words, certain events might occur; for instance, it could be an unsuccessful battle, a revolt in the troops – in a word, “a serious catastrophe during which the commanders and a certain number of warriors died”. The catastrophe was so serious that the survivors had to burn the battle banners together with the killed warriors so that the enemy didn’t get the banners. It has also been assumed that the found things belonged to Slavs or Khazars who had close economic and political links with the Byzantine Empire. You can understand the authors of such statements: twenty years hadn’t passed when the First World War ended followed by the Civil War. There were enough such dramatic episodes in the recent history. There were also such episodes in the ancient history; besides, some of such tragic events took place here, on the Dnieper. It happened in 972 AD3 when the great Kyiv knyaz Sviatoslav had to spend the winter near the rapids with “a small squad” and died surrounded by the superior forces of the enemy, Pechenegs. So, the find was, as it seemed to some scientists, nothing less than an illustration of this sanguinary story which was described in the chronicle. Nobody seemed to have any doubt concerning the fact that the last fight of knyaz Sviatoslav took place near the Dnieper rapids. However, this very find had nothing to do with that event. 3

Fragments of gold adornments of the sword sheath from the Glodosy “treasure”

One of the participants of the excavations, M. Miller, published a book in 1951 (in Canada) with the name: “The grave of knyaz Sviatoslav”. It was dedicated to the excavations and the finds which were discovered in 1930 on Voznesenka Mountain; the professor suggested calling it “Sviatoslav’s Mountain”. When the mentioned above book was being published, such a conclusion looked odd as the finds had already been dated to more ancient times. This book was forgotten for some time, but in the 1990s of the 20th century the old story was found and with the assistance of journalists it was published in newspapers and hence on the Internet where it is quite popular now.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus A gold adornment from the Glodosy “treasure”

The thing is that all the things which were found in square 59 had been made two hundred odd years before the events of 972, i.e. long before the birth (to say nothing about the date of the death) of the glorious knyaz-warrior. For instance, such sabersbroadswords were used by the steppe cavalry in the 7th–the 8th century. The army of Sviatoslav and the knyaz himself used double-edged swords. Even sabers in those times differed quite noticeably from the weapons of the times of KhazarArab wars for the Caucasus. In that very time sword belts which were found in the lower layer of the accumulation were created. You couldn’t find such belts and sets of straps and clasps in the 10th century even in museums – they didn’t exist then yet. Such accessories couldn’t be used for more than two hundred odd years in the first place. Can you imagine a general of the Soviet army in the modern military uniform, but with buttons and a saber of the times of the war of 1812? And sometimes the distance is practically the same.

The Glodosy treasure By the way, the Glodosy treasure after its discovery4 was also at first determined by experts as “the remains of a military camp with a burial place of the chief”. It included harnesses for two horse which were adorned with gold or made thereof and also a broadsword, a dagger, points of a spear, earrings, two big pyramidal pendants for headgear, two rings, four neck chains. They found burnt bones of a man and a ram nearby. 4

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In terms of craftsmanship, the sheath of the sword was not inferior to the similar product from the Pereshchepyna “treasure”. The chain of the sword belt which included two “medallions” was also preserved; it was made of gold. The sword was worn near the belt with its help. Both the chain and the working of the sword sheath were clearly made by the same craftsman, to order. The dagger from Glodosy resembles the find which was discovered in Voznesenka both in terms of the form of the blade and the working. The same circles with a dot in the center which are connected with “barbed wire” are encrusted with gold. One of the first versions which was suggested by the researchers consisted in the fact that this was a burial place of a noble warrior “which was surrounded by two parallel ditches”. As it is well seen on the published drawing, the ditches are really parallel. However, they are far from “surrounding” the place of the find. Because they are parallel. A more grounded assumption was made; it consisted in the fact that in this case “the treasure” probably included things which had been hastily hidden after a successful robbery of a wealthy burial place. It seems that they were gathered in bags and were buried this way. And “the parallel ditches” which at first were considered to be “a military camp” are the traces of trenches which were dug by unlucky robbers who forgot where the treasure was buried. Indeed together with precious metal they found burnt bones of men and animals, the remains of fabric, iron parts of a horse harness, blades. The presence of bones and also the fact that the precious things were deliberately damaged don’t quite correspond to the views concerning the composition of an “ordinary” treasure. Such complexes of finds allowed the researchers to speak about burial places, funeral complexes, even temples the mentions and the description of which are given in written sources which deal with the customs of nomads of that epoch. Such antiquities were also found in the boundless steppes of Eurasia, sometimes quite far from the territory of Ukraine. Gold adornments of the sword belt for the sword from the Glodosy “treasure”

A separate monograph is dedicated to this find: А. Т. Сміленко Глодоські скарби. — К., 1965 (A.T. Smilenko Glodosy treasures).

Section 21. Steppe “treasures”

Gold products from the Glodosy “treasure”

Farewell to the great chief The custom to burn dead people was spread among nomadic Turkic speaking tribes which lived in the steppes of Eurasia in the 7th century. This rite became known as a result of excavations of burial grounds of the Saltov culture and also burial places in steppe mounds of the Land. The weapons which were found in them – sabers, daggers – are similar to the ones which are depicted on the stone sculpture of Central Asia. For example, the blade of the dagger from the Glodosy “treasure” which is encrusted with gold is very similar to the mentioned above prototypes.

It is known that the customs of Turks included the construction of funeral sanctuaries. For this purpose the selected plot was protected by surrounding it with something. It could be a ditch which was dug in the ground, a bank of stones and even a stone wall. The sizes of the enclosure, as a rule, depended on the status of the dead man in the society when he was alive. Let us remind you that the size of the stone enclosure of “the camp” in Voznesenka amounted to 81×51 m and they had to bring the stones for its construction from 20– 30 km away. We are speaking about considerable labor costs which can be compared to the ones which were

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus born during the construction of the kuruk–the funeral temples of Turkic khagans (and the members of their families) in the 7th–the 8th century. In the center of the kuruk there was a yurt in which the body of the dead man and the accompanying funeral gifts were committed to the flames. A circle of stones in the form of a stone enclosure in Voznesenka corresponds to it. This is that very circle near which the pit in square 59 was found. Some things are deliberately damaged; this was part of the ritual. Everything that was left on the surface after the flame died out was put into the pit which was dug nearby in a certain order. They could return to the place of this ritual more than once. Similar rites only in a less luxurious (and a more modest) form were also performed for ordinary representatives of Turkic tribes and also for other nomads who joined them. In these days in the place of the find of “the Voznesenka treasure” there is a glass producing plant. This is already the territory of the Zaporizhia region and it is far from being the outskirts. Just like before, a beautiful view on the Dnieper opens from there. There is no need to cross the river by boat any more because there are bridges. The local researchers applied great effort to determine the location of the excavations of 1930. Now there are quite real plans to put up a commemorative token with an appropriate inscription in Voznesenka. If they manage to do it, then this will be not only a monument to the archeological discovery, but also to the great chief, warrior, probably one of the ancient

Gold adornments from the Glodosy “treasure”

khagans of Khazaria who ruled in the first decades of the 8th century. Most likely the historians will argue for quite a long time only about his name. And the monument to Sviatoslav, the victor of Khazars in the 10th century, has already been put up in Voznesenka. The knyaz stands at full length, in chain armor, with his head bare. He raised his sword which for some reason resembles a cross, with its hilt up either in token of conciliation or capitulation. History is an odd thing and its ways are inscrutable: one of the most powerful rulers of Khazaria of the time of its flourishing and the knyaz of Rus who put an end to the existence of his “steppe empire” “met” on an ancient mountain which towers above the Dnieper in the 20th century. Gold things, Voznesenka. The beginning of the 8th century

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Section 22

The khaganate grows in strength he Khazar khaganate noticeably differed from the states of Huns and even Avars. The banal robbery and extortion were replaced with the state machine in which the position and the obligations of each subordinate tribe were determined. Cities appeared, crafts developed, trade reached the scales which had never been seen before. Thus during the life of only a few generations Khazaria grew in strength to such an extent that for more than a century it managed to successfully resist numerous and united enemies among which there was such a mighty enemy as the Arab caliphate. The khaganate didn’t follow a very good-neighborly policy with respect to Slavs and those who were unlucky enough to appear in the sphere of its influence were forced to pay tribute. However, you shouldn’t forget that if it hadn't been for Khazaria, the question of the choice of faith wouldn’t have been so pointed for knyaz Volodymyr (and for entire Rus) at the end of the 10th century. And Volodymyr ibn Sviatoslav would have had to call himself not the knyaz (prince), but the “emir” or the “sultan of Kyiv”1. On the other hand, the Slavic tribes were involved in the trade with the East not without the participation of the khaganate; they adopted from their bellicose neighbors some of the useful technologies and skills from the production of vessels to the military art. Thus the role of Khazars and the state created by them in the history of Rus is not that unequivocal as it is sometimes thought.

T

Between victories and defeats The conclusions regarding the belonging of the Glodosy and the Voznesenka “treasures” to the Turkic part of the population of the Khazar khaganate look quite grounded. On the other hand, the beautiful blade, especially made by Byzantine craftsmen, could as well be used by representatives of other tribes and peoples. However, it is Khazars who by the end of the 7th century had subdued the population on a considerable part of the Land – both in the steppes and in Taurica and even part of Slavic tribes. All of them were hardly included solely voluntarily into the newly established state, took part in wars which were waged by its rulers or paid tribute, even “one squirrel skin from each dwelling”. They could achieve submission and tribute only with the help of weapons. And it is known that Khazars achieved this. True, the sources hush up how it happened, which of the khagans (or A mirror. The Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century 1

their nearest relatives) led horse detachments to the territories of the Land in order to subdue Severians or Polans. Probably the mentioned above complexes which due to some misunderstanding were called “treasures” were connected with the epoch of the primary conquest and the establishment of the state of Khazars. The rulers of Khazaria paid their price, probably even with blood, for the spreading and strengthening of the power of the Ashina dynasty. Some of the treasures are probably connected with the fight with the successors of khan Kubrat. Since it is known from written sources that Khazars pursued the Bulgars of Asparuh to the Danube. In order to do this they would have to cross all the steppes of the Land and pass by the places where hundreds of years later “treasures” would be found. Byzantines paid attention to their bellicose neighbors and potential allies and hurried to involve them in common campaigns which at first appeared to be very successful.

Such a possibility was discussed in the book: А. М. Буровский. Несбывшаяся Россия. — М., 2007 (A.M. Burovskiy. Mighthave-been Russia).

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The Khazar khaganate and its neighbors in the 8th–the beginning of the 9th century

However, a successful campaign against Iran and its rout in 628 AD2 led to unexpected for the victors consequences. Arabs who soon made Romei remember about the old allies-Khazars appeared on the historical arena. And they made them not only remember, but also forced them to start regularly sending appropriate gifts to distant steppes. So, having subdued and levied tribute on the residents of the Land, Khazars started waging war with the Arab caliphate. At first this type of activity brought quite a lot of profit, apart from the gifts from the allied

Byzantine Empire. Those wars almost for one hundred years attracted considerable forces (and the best commanders) of the caliphate and at the same time the center of the state of Khazars appeared to be in the South. The fight of three empires – the Byzantine Empire, the caliphate and the khaganate was waged with varying success in the Caucasus, in Asia Minor, in Northern Africa and on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. In the period which passed between the entry of the khaganate into the war with the caliphate (the war which appeared to be unexpectedly long and destructive) and its defeat the Western Slavs got quite a real chance (and more importantly, time which was precious in such a situation) to unite at the approach of danger, to rebuild fortified cities, to unite into something bigger than the tribal unions–chiefdoms of Polans, Severians, Drevlians, Ulichs and Tivertsi which are known to us thanks to chronicles. For instance, to unite into such a state like Rus approximately in the 10th century AD. However, everything happened in a different way. A broken saber and stirrups which were found in a burial place of the Saltov culture, the excavations of 1949

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You can find more details about it in the sections: “Bulgaria in the Pontic steppes” and also “Obres and Slavs”

Section 22. The khaganate grows in strength A bronze pendant with the traces of gilding from a burial place of the Saltov culture

Rebirth After defeats and the loss of lands in the Caucasus the rulers of the khaganate directed their eyes to the North and the West including to the Slavic lands. The war with the caliphate was over; it was time to rebuild the economy of the once-powerful state, to make the northwestern borders habitable and to establish mutually advantageous trade with the East. After the recent wars many of Khazars and their subjects turned Mohammedan. A huge Muslim cemetery of that epoch was found near the Sydorove ancient settlement in the Donetsk region just a few years ago. Who knows now how its residents called this town then? Among the residents of such towns, mostly representatives of the tribes of Alans and Bulgars, there were quite a lot of skillful craftsmen. Quite a lot of people came here from the foothills of the Caucasus, having built their farmsteads in a new place. This is how a lot of new settlements and towns with the materials of the Saltov culture appeared. It is on these migrants and the garrisons which were deployed in fortified points that Khazaria could rely in wars in the East and in the West. They became the distant rear of the khaganate and it was almost impossible for the commanders of the caliph to reach it. Alans and Bulgars who could offer quite a lot of mounted and dismounted warriors with full armament, protected with armor, with bows, spears, swords and battle axes settled Combat axes which were found in burial places. The Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

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down here. According to the estimates of researchers, the total number of such voluntary military forces could amount to ten–twenty thousand people. It was too few to fight against the armies of the caliphate, but it was quite enough to defend a fortress and to wage war on communications. The enemy who would thoughtlessly go to the steppes which once belonged to “the invincible Scythians” would risk sharing the deplorable destiny of the Points of spears. king of Persians, Darius The Saltov I Hystaspes3. culture, Moreover, the local the 9th–the 10th century armed forces were quite sufficient in order to subdue and to maintain the obedience of tribal unions of neighbors-Slavs which were situated within reach and to make them pay tribute. This is how Alans and also Bulgars who lived in the northeastern outskirts of the khaganate became for Slavs (to be more exact, for their future chroniclers) “those very” Khazars. Just like Antes and Goths who became “Huns” for their neighbors in a certain period. In the event that Slavs unite or a new, unknown and powerful enemy comes from the North or the West, with the assistance of the state they built fortresses with stone citadels which could delay such an enemy. The ways from the North to the Donets and the Don were blocked securely: it is not for nothing that Varangians appeared in the second half of the 9th century under the walls of Kyiv and not under the walls of the Saltov ancient setA stirrup. tlement which blocked the The Saltov culture, the way along the Siversky 8th–the 9th Donets from the North for century unexpected guests. The main tasks of the residents of “Saltov” ancient settlements and fortresses were the

You can find more details about the Scythian-Persian war in chapter 1, section “The glory of the invincible”.

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Arab coins which were used as adornments. A find from a burial ground of the Saltov culture

defense of the borders and the collection of tribute from the surrounding tribes. The order was maintained by governors on behalf of the khagan. They were called tuduns. The governor who acted in Taurica, next to the Byzantine territories is mentioned in historical chronicles most often.

The niceties of the Eastern trade During excavations of burial grounds and even settlements on the territory of the Land archeologists find quite a lot of coins which were minted in the Caliphate, silver dirgems. They are also found in treasures. They also find such coins far in the North, even in Scandinavia. It would be interesting to imagine the way this silver adorned with Arab letters which are incomprehensible for ordinary residents of the North covered. The local population gladly used such coins as adornments; some of them have two or even three openings. After the times of Roman denarii it was dirgems that supplied Europe with silver from the lands of the caliphate. But what goods could Khazaria ravaged by the war (to say nothing about the rest of Europe) offer at crowded markets of Damascus and Bagdad, at these fabulous markets of the time of “One Thousand and One Nights”? At the markets which were heaped up with goods of the local production or goods which were brought from all over the world by courageous and enterprising Sinbads the Sailors? Perhaps only furs, strong male slaves and beautiful female slaves from the

Gold adornments from burial places of the Saltov culture

neighboring countries. These goods had been fast-moving and profit-making, even superprofitable since the invincible Scythians. Polans and Severians who never managed to unite even before the approach of the enemy, yielding to the state might of the khaganate, for about one hundred odd years would pay tribute in the form of “one squirrel skin from each dwelling”. And the tribute was hardly limited to squirrel skins. The trade in fur in Bagdad is profitable, of course. But there are equally fast-moving, live goods. Male and female slaves would go from the North to the markets of Bagdad and Damascus in exchange for ringing silver coins. They would accumulate in the treasure of khagans of Khazaria; they would be used for the settlements with warriors and craftsmen for services and goods. In Arab and Persian written sources of that time you can find such terms as “saqlab” and “saqaliba”. Some researchers think that these terms refer to slaves who were brought from the North. Other researchers think that ancient authors meant Slavs. They argue that the term was borrowed from the Greek language. Since Arabs Adornments of the Saltov culture which were found in burial places

Necklaces from burial places of the Saltov culture

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Section 22. The khaganate grows in strength An amphora which was brought to a settlement of the Saltov culture from Taurica

A vessel from a Bulgar burial place. The Saltov culture, the 8th–the 9th century

Khazars and Kyiv

had an opportunity to meet Slavs as far back as in Asia Minor where some of them were settled among the Greek population for the protection of the borders of the Byzantine Empire4. It happened exactly in the 7th century, on the eve of the appearance of Arabs in this region. What is important is the context in which the word “saqaliba” is used since it may refer to a slave or to a representative of a certain ethnos (or territory). However, such a tendency in word formation paints the picture to the fullest extent. However, it’s worth noting that slavery markets, as it is thought, were situated beyond the boundaries of northwestern Khazaria, on the Volga and in the Crimea. The powerful local authorities on the Donets hindered the trade activity of the Rus who specialized in slave trade. Quite another trade flourished on the Siversky Donets and on the Don. Here they sold and bought products of crop farming and animal husbandry, wine which was made in Taurica, simple craftsman’s products. We can say that the trade routes of the time of the flourishing of the Bosporan Kingdom were restored. They found quite few coins here; most of them were parts of adornments that’s why it seems that the traditional goods exchange prevailed. 4 5

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In the year that the 1500-year anniversary of Kyiv was celebrated on the banks of the Dnieper, the translation of the document which is called by researchers “the Kievan Letter” was published5. It had been found among manuscripts about one hundred years before (to be more exact, in 1896) among ancient papers and parchments which had been brought to Great Britain from Cairo6. The authors of the publication thought that the most ancient document which had been written in the walls of the glorious city of Kyi fell into their hands. At the beginning of this letter there were the following words: “We inform you, the community of Kyiv, about the affair which we are concerned about” and at the very letter there was a “visa” of the Khazar official which was put down with runes! Experts who prepared this letter for publication and studied it made a very interesting conclusion. This conclusion consisted in the fact that Khazars had ruled Kyiv long before the appearance of the Rus; moreover, probably it is them who had the honor to found this city not earlier than the first half of A jug of the Saltov culture

You can find more details about it in the section: “From Ukranenland to Hisn as’Sakaliba”. The document with the translation and comments was first published by N. Golb and O. Pritsak in 1982 and in Russian in 1997: Голб Н., Прицак О. Хазарско4еврейские документы Х века// Москва—Иерусалим, 1997 (Golb N., Pritsak O. KhazarJewish documents of the 10th century). The history of the search and discovery of ancient manuscripts from Cairo by Solomon Schechter is described in detail in the book: Л. Дойель Завещанное временем. — М., 1980. — С.413—443 (L. Doyel. Bequeathed by the time).

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Mirrors. The Saltov culture, the 8th– the 10th century

the 9th century, i.e. approximately between 800 and 850 AD. Indeed, it is known that Polans paid tribute to Khazars as far back as in the second half of the 9th century. The collectors of that tribute might as well live in a big city which had been founded by them as an outpost of the powerful Khazar state in distant Slavic lands. Domestic archeologists and historians jointly criticized severely this and also other concomitant conclusions7. Firstly, they stated that material traces of “the presence of Khazars” in Kyiv were minimal. Indeed, if we take into account the finds of things of the Saltov culture, then really they haven’t found lots of them. Among them there are finds which are typical for the Saltov culture, necklaces and also ceramics. For example, a Saltov vessel was found in a burial place which was excavated on the cape opposite Volodymyr 7

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Hill8. It stood near the head of its owner who had been put by contemporaries into an ordinary pit. And on the skull of the buried man, according to the authors of the excavations, there were noticeable traces from blows of the saber. True, it is not this wound that brought the owner of the Saltov jug to the grave. Who was he? A Bulgar (the funeral rite is similar) or an Alan merchant who lived in Kyiv or a merchant from Podillya who risked doing business in the East? We can only make assumptions about it. All in all they discovered 35 ancient burial places here, but the Saltov vessel was found only in one burial place. This necropolis was situated right opposite the mouth of the river Pochaina where there was one of the city markets once. So, the version about the merchant’s burial place here doesn’t look that incredible. However, is it legitimate to connect the things of the Saltov culture with the traces of the stay of Khazar officials in Kyiv and also of the Khazar-Judaic community the representatives of which were the senders of “the Kievan Letter”? Since the formation of the Saltov culture is connected by archeologists, first of all, with the Alan and Bulgar (Proto-Bulgar) population of the eastern regions of Ukraine. The culture of the ruling elite of the powerful khaganate, Khazars, actually looked somewhat different. The same can be said about the representatives of the Judaic community. Convincing traces of the stay in the city of both of them haven’t been found at all. So, it is too difficult to prove or to refute the stay

For instance, П. П. Толочко. Миф о хазаро4иудейском основании Киева// Київ і Русь. — К., 2008. — С. 47—56 (P.P. Tolochko. Myths about the Khazar-Judaic foundation of Kyiv); also see А. А. Тортика. Северо4Западная Хазария в контексте истории Восточной Европы. — Харьков, 2006. — С. 171—182 (A.A. Tortika. Northwestern Khazaria in the context of the history of Eastern Europe). The report about the excavations was published in: І. М. Самойловський. Слов’янський могильник у Києві над Дніпром// Археологія, 1950. — Т. ІІІ. — С. 179—184 (I.M. Samoylovskyi. The Slavic burial ground in Kyiv over the Dnieper).

Section 22. The khaganate grows in strength

The scheme of the location of the find and the vessel of the Saltov culture from a burial place which was found opposite Volodymyr Hill in Kyiv (according to I.M. Samoylovskyi)

of Khazars in Kyiv with the help of solely archeological arguments. A more thorough study of “the Kievan Letter” also showed that the conclusions regarding the Khazarsfounders were most likely premature. Even the statement that the letter was written in Kyiv was also called in question. Indeed, the mentioned above phrase “we inform you, the community of Kyiv” doesn’t mean that the document was written in the mentioned city.

But the most serious argument “against” is the contents of the letter on the whole. Since the local community asks the coreligionists to help the poor merchant Mar Jacob ben Hanukkah to collect 40 coins so that he could pay his debts. Otherwise evil people will come from the local ruler again and the poor man will be put into irons. At first sight, forty A silver dirgem which was found in a burial place of the Saltov culture

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Necklaces of the Saltov culture which were found during excavations on the territory of Kyiv

coins is a rather big sum; for example, in 945 AD they gave 10 gold coins for a young slave. However, the community of merchants who were concerned with such business (and this specialization is known from Byzantine sources) was supposed to have considerable resources wherever it lived – either in Kyiv or in Cherson. Let us remind you that the letter was found

Mirrors. The Saltov culture, the 9th–the 10th century

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in Cairo. It is there that poor Mar Jacob had to go in search of some 40 coins! At first sight, the territories of Khazars on the Volga were much closer than the northern coast of Africa. It is thought that such treatment of insolvent debtors was most likely possible only in the period of the domination of the Rus in Kyiv. The same Rus could block the ways to the East. This is how the situation came about that it was much easier (and safer) to get to Cairo from Kyiv than to get to the capital of the khaganate, the city of Atil, which was situated much closer, on the banks of the Volga. So, the story with Khazars who allegedly founded Kyiv for assuring the collection of tribute and trade doesn’t look very convincing now. It will hardly be possible even to find the traces of the collector of tribute, tarkhan, studying solely archeological finds. Even they are ambiguous. For instance, from among annalistic stories which describe the relations of Polans with Khazars we have already mentioned the one which deals with the tribute in the form of swords and also its interpretation by Nestor the Chronicler. However, there is another interpretation of this episode according to which the payment of tribute in the form of swords is just evidence of disarmament of each dwelling (and Polans on the whole) by victors-Khazars.

Section 23

The times of inspiring knyazes n order to reproduce one hundred and a half–two hundred year history of the Land which preceded the appearance of the state called Rus on the political map of Europe, for quite a long time historians had to limit themselves solely to annalistic records, foreign chronicles and the records of Arab merchants. If assembled together, there are quite a lot of them, but they are laconic and sometimes tangled and ambiguous. The romantic image of that time was preserved in the legends about cruel knyazes, wise and insidious soothsayers, mighty bogatyrs and beauties. Archeology, not competing for the global restoration of the historical picture to the fullest extent, still managed to suggest rather grounded versions with respect to where and how Eastern Slavs lived on the eve of the establishment of Rus, what activities they were engaged in, who they traded with, and who they fought with. Sometimes simple mapping of antiquities or the determination of their exact dating made serious changes to sophisticated constructs of historians.

I

Where Slavs “settled” As far back as at the lessons of history we found out and tried to learn by heart the names of ancient Slavic tribes who had settled down on the territories of the Land and beyond its boundaries: Drevlians, Ulichs, Tivertsi, Buzhans, Volhynians, Krivichi, Dregovichs, Croats, Severians and, of course, Polans. However, even our teachers could hardly

explain in detail what the difference between Ulichs and Polans was, besides the place of their settlement, or to describe in greater detail what this or that tribe looked like. However, probably even those who put down all the mentioned above names in chronicles in cozy cells of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Novgorod and other monasteries in the lands of a huge state, in fact the empire called Rus wouldn’t be able to do that hundreds of years ago.

The location of archeological cultures which are connected with Slavs on the territory of the Land, the 7th–the 9th century

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus According to the chronicle “…certain Slavs settled also on the Dnipro, and were likewise called Polyanians. Still others were named Drevlians, because they lived in the forests. Some also lived between the Pripet' and the Dvina, and were known as Dregovichians. Other tribes resided along the Dvina and were called Polotians… The Slavs also dwelt about Lake Il'men', and were known there by their characteristic name. They built a city which they called Novgorod. Still others had their homes along the Desna, the Sem', and the Sula, and were called Severians. Thus the Slavic race was divided.” A few events at the same time are combined in this record; they took place at a different time, but some of the events which are known from other sources are missed out. And at the end of the 7th and particularly in the 8th century some of the Slavic tribes – Dregovichs, Krivichi, Vyatichi, Radimichs and others really went to the lands which had been inhabited by Baltic and Ugric-Finnish tribes since ancient times. Now these places are situated on the territory of countries which are called Belarus and Russia. In modern Latvia you can hear the name of one of the big neighboring countries which is unusual for the Slavic ear – “Krievija”. This is how Russia is called by the local residents (not Slavs) some of the ancestors of whose were among the subjects of Polotsk knyazes in ancient times. The descendants of the Ugric-Finnish aboriginals have autonomous republics as part of the Russian Federation, for example, the Karelo-Finnish Republic or the Republic of Mordovia. And the descendants of the Slavic tribal union which once occupied huge territories lost their state in the 15th century. And only historians remind the majestic name of their capital – Mister Great Novgorod. Probably only the borders of some of the regions of modern Ukraine can be correlated with the territories of the settlement of separate tribes which were mentioned above (and only approximately). For example, the Kyiv and the north of the Cherkasy regions (partly) can be correlated with Polans, the Zhytomyr region with Drevlians, the Chernihiv, the Sumy, partly the Kharkiv and Poltava regions with Severians. Now some of the Products of bronze which were found in Slavic settlements of Podesennya

1

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tribal territories are divided between regions. For instance, the capital city of Kyiv snapped off a considerable piece of the territories of Drevlians one thousand odd years ago and still keeps it now. Probably only the residents of Korosten in the Zhytomyr region remember the past might of the city of Iskorosten, the capital of the territories of Drevlians and intend to sue the Kyiv authorities (for some reason the local ones, although the present mayors of Kyiv trace their descent by far not from the Rurik Dynasty) for past offences and losses which were inflicted in the times of Princess Olga, but this is another, later story. One hundred and a half years ago archeologists had to start the work from scratch, in the sense that then few people knew what ceramics, dwellings, other things of the everyday life of annalistic Polans, Tivertsi, to say nothing about Severians or Ulichs with Krivichi and Drevlians looked like. However, already by the middle of the 20th century they had managed to find the traces of hundreds of Slavic settlements, to excavate many ancient settlements and necropolises and as a result to distinguish a few archeological cultures the creators of which were the Slavic tribes mentioned in “The Tale of Bygone Years”. Ceramics, jewelry, types of dwellings and fortifications – all this was properly systematized and painted a rather clear picture. Thanks to this it was possible to reconstruct the way of life and even to try to paint beauties in clothes and adornments which were characteristic for Polans, Drevlians, Volhynians, Severians. Of course, the names of archeological cultures – “the Volyntseve culture”, “the Romny culture”, “the LukaRayky culture” have nothing to do with the annalistic names of the tribes. It’s worth saying that the archeological map of the time of “annalistic” Slavic tribes greatly differs now (which is quite natural) from the one that was described by Nestor. Since already in his times the former borders between tribal unions stopped existing. And it is not surprising: ancient chiefdoms are, first of all, political structures. And the speed and the tension of the political life mustn’t necessarily correspond to the rhythm of the changes of the material culture.

Severians: two cultures of the same tribe It turns out that there is a tribal union which is represented by two archeological cultures at the same time. True, they existed sequentially and, as it turned out, have a rather complex history. The most ancient of them is the Volyntseve culture; it will be described in greater details in the next section1. The important thing is that it is recognized as one of the components of the formation of the Romny culture (in a certain period it was also called the Romny-Borshchevo cul-

You can find more details about it in the section “The country of Polans, the country of Drevlians”.

Section 23. The times of inspiring knyazes

A view on the ancient fortified settlements “Small Balkan” and “Big Balkan” near the village of Nitsakha in the Sumy region

ture) which covers the lands of the annalistic Severians of the 8th–the 10th century. Their traces were found on the territory of many populated places of the left bank of the Dnieper. It turned out that the sources of such modern cites as Novhorod-Siversky, Chernihiv, Lyubech, Putyvl, Romny, Rylsk, Poltava, Oposhnya and even Kharkiv are connected with the annalistic Severians. And it means that the Slavic page of the history of the mentioned above cities started more than one thousand odd years ago. The Romny culture existed till the beginning of the 11th century when gradually it started dissolving in the global ancient Russian culture. The bearers of the Romny culture-Severians built quite a lot of powerful ancient settlements on high banks of rivers. In order to do that they used capes with rather steep slopes. Often ancient settlements were situated not far from one another, in groups. Two such ancient settlements became the objects of studies near the village of Nitsakha, in the Sumy region. The local names of these ancient settlements look rather interesting: “Small Balkan” and “Big Balkan”. Who knows, maybe these toponyms preserve the remembrance of those distant times when the tribes of Severians really lived in the Balkans, near the borders of the Byzantine Empire? The capes on which both the ancient settlements were situated were enclosed with high ramparts. The base of the ramparts, their core, was made of stones. They served as a framework

which supported the earth fill and prevented it from sliding down. In front of the rampart there was a deep ditch. Actually the ground which was taken from it was used to make the earth fill. First having allowed some space from the edge of the ditch, they put a wooden wall of blocks which were fastened vertically with the help of embedded posts. Their lower part was covered with ground which was thrown out from the ditch. When this wall was burnt (probably there was some hostile assault) the height of the rampart was increased and a palisade on its crest was put. The entrance was made not in the center, but alongside of the rampart so that an unexpected guest would definitely have to show his right side which was not protected by a shield to archers who were situated behind the fence, on the ramparts. On the territory between the ancient settlements there was a settlement the residents of which could hide behind the ramparts and walls of the fortress in case of attack. The finds show that these ancient settlements lived till the times of Rus and even the Mongolian invasion in the 13th century. The find of a silver coin of the times of the Golden Horde in the field, i.e. in the place of the settlement suggests that this populated place outlived even these hard times. The excavations of the rampart show that for the first The section of the rampart the base of which was made of stones. The ancient settlement Small Balkan near the village of Nitsakha

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus time the enemies burnt the ancient settlement as far back as in the times of the Romny culture, but it was rebuilt and protected the local residents for many more years. Ancient settlements which were built by Severians, in the opinion of archeologists, were not only fortresses, but also administrative, tribal centers. Thus not only a certain ethnographic community, but also the political union, a rather powerful tribal alliance – chiefdom can be considered to be the Romny archeological culture. The union of tribes of Livoberezhya was called “Severs”, “Severians”.

From the life of ordinary Severians The section of the ditch of the ancient settlement “Small Balkan” near the village of Nitsakha

The remains of a dwelling of the Romny culture near the ancient settlement “Small Balkan”

The remains of a stove in a dwelling of the Romny culture. The clay construction was faced with stones 2

You can find more details about the archeological excavations near the village of Nitsakha in the monograph: О. В. Сухобоков. Дніпровське Лісостепове лівобережжя у VIII—XIII ст. — К., 1992. — С. 152—163 (O.V. Sukhobokov. The Dnieper ForestSteppe Livoberezhya in the 8th–the 13th century).

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The villages which were situated under the protection of ancient settlements consisted of half-dugouts. Such a construction (which was indicated in the report as dwelling №6) was excavated opposite the ancient settlement Small Balkan2. It was situated at a distance from fortifications; perhaps no buildings were erected in the area in front of them for a reason. They managed to find their remains at a depth of 60–70 cm from the surface. This was a spot of dark ground which stood out against the background of the surrounding yellow loam. The dimensions of the ancient foundation pit which was square in plan view amounted to 4.9×4.9 m. Ledges cut out in the clay with the width of 40–60 cm were preserved along the walls. A stove which was also cut out of the mainland clay adjoined one of them. This was a rather big, as compared to such a room, heating construction with the dimensions of 1.7×1.42 m. The thickness of the walls amounted to 30 cm. Near the orifice of the stove they found a stove pit the bottom level of which was lower than the level of the hearthstone. This is “a working place” of the hostess of the dwelling during the preparation of food. Along the walls they found the traces of posts which once formed the framework of the construction. In the filling of the foundation pit they found fragments of ceramics including the ones of the Romny culture, small products of iron, which had been lost by the hosts and trampled down in the floor. The dwelling itself was deepened in the ground (if we take into account the ancient horizon) for not more than one meter. It seems that it was done in order to cut out a massive stove of the mainland clay. They excavated the remains of outbuildings next to the dwelling. The walls of the foundation pits of the dugouts were faced with wood by the bearers of the Romny cultureSeverians; they built an outer entrance hall near the entrance. The double-pitch roof of the dwellings had earth roofing. The stoves were cut out of the clay foundation or according to the old “Volyntseve” tradition were built of clay blocks.

Section 23. The times of inspiring knyazes When studying dwelling №6 they found no traces of fire. Even if this construct was burnt down, then the people who rebuilt the settlement cleaned all the traces of the fire. The remains of this construction were damaged by a pit of a later time. However, the find of fragments of pots in some places may suggest that one day this village was ruined, but for some reason nobody removed the broken vessels. The Romny culture – pots, mugs, bowls, pans – resemble the Volyntseve ones in terms of the form, especially the pots with high brims. However, on the shoulders of pots there is an ornament of the impressions of a cord which is quite unique for that epoch. This style makes you remember the distant heritage of the Bronze Age, the Corded Ware culture. The ceramics are mainly molded, but some time later products which were adjusted on a potter’s wheel appear. And on some of the pots there are signs of the imitation of the production on a potter’s wheel; probably such products were considered more prestigious. The bearers of the Romny culture were familiar with vessels which were made on a potter’s wheel not from hearsay. They had jugs and pots which were made by Alan potters. During excavations they found not only fragments, but also broken pieces of big amphorae for wine, jugs. True, such finds are connected mostly with ancient settlements. The presence of pans in the ceramic complex is not connected with making steaks or scrambled eggs at all. They were necessary in order to fry grain as, just like in ancient times, glumaceous wheat remained the main cereal crop. However, in order to make flour Severians started using millstones instead of ancestors’ grain graters. Burial grounds of the Romny culture were situated not far from settlements. A few hundreds of mounds concentrated in a small area were preserved in some places. The height of burial mounds is relatively small and amounts to one – one and a half meters with the diameter of 10–14 m. Before burying dead people were burnt; the ashes were collected in big pots which were put in the upper or the middle part of the filling

Molded vessels of the Romny culture which are adorned with impressions of a cord

Broken vessels of the Romny culture, Nitsakha

The traces of a construction of the Romny culture which were found in the Basivka ancient settlement of the Scythian time

of the burial mound. They also found burial places which were not marked with mounds at all.

Slavs in a Donets ancient settlement The interesting thing is that the materials of the Romny culture were found on the territory of ancient settlements which had been founded as far back as in the Scythian times. Since no substantial researchers have been conducted here, it hasn’t been determined yet whether the bearers of the Romny culture-Severians rebuilt ancient fortresses or simply settled down, hiding behind high walls from the eyes of strangers. The ancient settlement which is situated on the river Donets in the outskirts of Kharkiv is an exception. During excavations they managed to find the traces of the presence of the Slavic population there. The remains of

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Buildings and the remains of fortifications of the time of the Romny culture in the Donets ancient settlement (according to B.A. Shramko)

dwellings which were typical for the Romny culture were studied in the excavated section. They were situated along a straight street with an interval of from 4 to 10 meters. Thus the development was in the form of building farmsteads, but rather dense. Some farmsteads amounted to two constructions which were situated at a distance of one meter from each other. Perhaps the walls were covered with wood. In one of the constructions they managed to find the remains of a window opening. The dimensions of a dwelling were standard, on average 4×4 m. One of the constructions had walls with a framework structure. The remains of clay coating with the impressions of wooden parts remained from them. At the bottom of foundation pits they found a layer of coals – either the remains of a burnt ceiling or a wooden floor. The roofs of dwellings were both doublepitch and monopitch. The dwellings were heated with the help of stoves which were cut out of clay. They also managed to study the remains of fortifications of the same period as the described above constructions. Along the crest of the ancient rampart there were posts which were embedded in pairs; they supported blocks which were put horizontally. Such a construction resembles the fortifications of the Zymne ancient settlement in distant Volhynia, stretching the roots to the time of the Slavic unity this way. Ceramics was burnt by the residents of the ancient settlement in a special stove – furnace. Its remains were excavated near a dwelling. They found even pits from posts which supported the shed which protected the construction from rain and snow. At the same time such a furnace could be used to burn up to 20–30 pots; so, the vessels were not made for one farmstead here. They 3

found a lot of defective and broken vessels around the furnace. Severians erected buildings in the Donets ancient settlement as far back as in the 8th century. The find of a silver Tabaristan coin which was minted in 780 AD is dated to this time. Life also continued here at the end of the 9th century – an Arab dirgem of that time was found. There are also imitations of the dirgem of the beginning of the 10th century which were made by some local skillful craftsmen. Being situated not very far from the Saltov ancient settlement, this populated place would hardly have survived if Severians hadn’t submitted to their more powerful neighbors-Khazars. However, in the 10th century the city was taken by assault and burnt down all the same. And not only dwellings, but also fortifications were burnt. This was not an accidental fire, but a military operation, a sudden attack. Vessels, things of everyday use were left in dwellings. They didn’t even have time to take the finished products out of the potter’s furnace. And on the defense rampart they found a saber which was a typical weapon of nomads of the beginning of the 10th century3, i.e. approximately of the times of Oleg the Prophet. However, in those times cold weapons (just like coins) could serve their owners for decades, changing hands many times. So, the devastation of the Donets ancient settlement can as well be dated to the whole first half of the 10th century. Meanwhile, the Slavic-Khazar relations were gradually worsening – not without the participation of the Rus who established a foothold in distant Kyiv. Taking into account annalistic records, we can offer a choice of a few versions of the events which could occur here. It could happen that the residents of the ancient settlement, relying on the protection of the Kyiv knyaz, and Oleg the Prophet, as the chronicle suggests, made such an offer to Severians, stopped paying tribute to the khaganate. As a result, the residents of the populated place which was remote from Kyiv appeared to be alone with the punitive expedition which had been sent from the neighboring cities of Khazaria. Of course, Oleg restored justice some time later and punished the Khazar invaders in his own way, but it was too late.

However, A.N. Kirpichnikov assessed this product as the most ancient saber which had been known among ancient Russian sabers:

А. Н. Кирпичников Древнерусское оружие// Свод археологических источников. — М., 1966. — Вып. Е"36. — Ч.1. — С. 68

(A.N. Kirpichnikov Ancient Russian weapons).

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Section 23. The times of inspiring knyazes

The modern view of fortifications and the territory of the Donets ancient settlement

However, the excavations showed that the town and its fortifications were restored in the same 10th century. The town existed till the 13th century when it was burnt down again. There are no arguments concerning the fact who restored the town: ancient Russian ceramics were found in the cultural layer. So, the ancient settlement was rebuilt by people from Kyiv. As is known, one of Oleg’s priorities was getting square with the Byzantine Empire. Campaigns to Constantinople, the trade route along the Dnieper gave more benefits than a war with the khaganate in boundless steppes. But another fighter with the Khazar threat, a descendant of Rurik, knyaz Sviatoslav struggled with Khazaria in a more substantial way. Among his allies there were nomadsPechenegs. It is them who the saber which was found among the remains of fortifications could belong to. However, druzhinniks of Kyiv knyazes also used such weapons, which is confirmed by the finds of sabers in burial places. It is knyaz Sviatoslav who had both the time and the desire to extend the boundaries of his state and not only to the South, but also to the East. After the campaign to the lands of Severians, as the chronicler writes, he imposed “small tribute” on them. As the example of the Donets ancient settlement shows, by far not all the residents of the 4

North could think so. However, the Kyiv knyaz fought with Khazaria successfully. For him the restoration of the Donets ancient settlement meant the construction of an important frontier fortress on new borders of Rus.

Severians and Khazaria If we take into account the total number of ancient settlements, then probably Severians built most of them as compared to other “annalistic tribes”. They found 92 such fortified settlements on their territory as far back as ten years ago! And this is despite the fact that there are less than fifty of them on the combined territories of Polans and Drevlians. Severian fortified villages were located approximately in the same way as ancient settlements of the Scythian time one thousand odd years before. Since the strategy of the fight with nomads hadn’t changed greatly since ancient times. Along the course of rivers which fall into the Dnieper as many as three lines of ancient settlements were located and the fourth line was located along the Desna. Three fortresses among which is the Donets ancient settlement resisted a huge populated place near Upper Saltov4.

You can find more details about the ancient settlement near Upper Saltov in the section “About the settlements of Khazaria”.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus

The scheme of the location of the ancient settlements of the Romny culture

Eastern Slavic silver adornments

Silver adornments and dirgems from a treasure

However, neither the scales of the union of the residents of the North nor the powerful fortresses saved them from submission and payment of tribute to Khazars. Their lands were situated too close to the

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boundaries of the mighty empire and the forces were too unequal. Since the khaganate, even having suffered a defeat from Arabs, was rather powerful in order to take control of a separate Slavic chiefdom, even if it was relatively freedom-loving. Besides, right after the lost war Khazaria needed food, money and a lot of other things. Since the war made plenty of people in Ciscaucasia leave their long-occupied places. Not only flourishing cities, but also villages, fields which fed them and vineyards were abandoned. Many dozens of thousands of subjects of the khaganate were left not only dishoused, but also without a piece of bread. And Khazars started looking for this bread in the North, in the Northwest where they could take away all the necessary things from weaker neighbors – Severians, Polans and others. Perhaps they took not only bread. However, it would be an exaggeration to think that the relations of the khaganate and the residents of the North were limited solely to robbery, extortion and collection of tribute. There was also trade, which is confirmed by the finds of silver coins in Romny settlements both in the form of separate coins and treasures. Shining silver dirgems which were minted in the lands subordinated to Bagdad caliphs were the hardest currency on the territory of the Land in those times. They are found everywhere, both in big cities like Iskorosten, Kyiv, Chernihiv and in small Monastyrsk on the Dnieper. Sometimes these coins allow determining rather accurately the time of life of this or that ancient settlement.

Section 24

The country of Polans, the country of Drevlians

n the right bank of the Dnieper and further to the West, to the Carpathians, where the chronicler mentions as many as eight tribes, there appeared to be only one archeological culture if we don’t take into account separate droplets of the cultures from Livoberezhya. It was called the Luka-Rayky culture, after the name of an area in the present Zhytomyr region where the first excavations were carried out. Then they discovered certain regional variants which were formed with the participation of the nearest neighbors. This is how some time later they managed to determine what the material culture of some of “the annalistic tribes” in this region looked like. The picture appeared to be quite complex and interesting.

O

Excavations in the Rayky meadow The archeological culture of the type Luka-Rayky corresponds to annalistic Slavic tribes of the right bank of the Dnieper (and not only to them). A few reports about archeological excavations which were carried out

in the eponym settlement during 1946–1948 are preserved. It is situated on the territory of the Zhytomyr region which, as is known, more than one thousand years ago was inhabited by Slavic tribes the names of which are well known from chronicles. These are Drevlians.

The location of cultural artifacts which were mentioned in the text: the Volyntseve culture and the Luka-Rayky culture. The legend: 1 — settlements; 2 — burial grounds (1—2 — the Volyntseve culture); 3 — settlements (Luka-Rayky culture)

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A view on the location of an ancient Slavic settlement in the area “Luka”. The drawing from the report of V. Goncharov about the excavations of 1947

These were hard, postwar times. Archeologists even had to go back to the practice of drawing sketches of the finds and the process of excavations instead of taking the necessary photographs. That’s why besides charts, the report is accompanied with a few pencil drawings which were made during excavations. In one of them the panorama of a valley along the bottom of which a stream runs and about a dozen of dwellings among the trees on the nearby slope is depicted hastily. In the foreground there are a few small pits and to the right there are four trees. Probably archeologists gathered under the shade of one of it during a lunch break and discussed the finds which were discovered during excavations. Field studies were carried out in summer then, in July or August, that’s why probably it was rather pleasant to have a rest under those trees. The ancient village was situated half a kilometer from the ancient settlement which is called Rayky. The village occupied a small elevation which was surrounded by water meadows. Perhaps in ancient times this was a small island which was surrounded by channels of a small river or by a swamp. This area was simply called by the local residents “Luka”. The remains of constructions were found at a depth of only 40 cm from the surface. In the layer of the ground which covered them they found fragments of broken vessels

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which had been molded manually. There were fragments of pots of the Scythian time here, but there were more other vessels which were also molded, but of a later epoch. One of the excavated dwellings appeared to be a real dugout. Its foundation pit was once dug in two steps. At first it was a square pit with the dimensions of 3.8×3.8 m. When the builders reached the mark of 1.3 m, the dimensions of the foundation pit were reduced to 2.7×2.7 m. Then they dug approximately another 30 cm. This is how they received a base for the dugout with the depth of more than one and a half meters and with ledges with the width of 0.3 m along the walls. These ledges formed the base for benches which were timbered. In the southeastern corner there was a stove which was made of stones with the sole coated with clay. Its dimensions amounted to 1.2×1.3 m and the thickness of walls was about 30 cm. Disassembling it, researchers found out that the economical residents of the settlement used the remains of broken millstones as the construction materials. Two millstones were used in the masonry practically intact: one of them was used to make the back wall and the other one was used to cover the stove from above. Who knows, maybe such a construction of the stove of millstones had some magic meaning. In the earth floor they found a few pits from vertically embedded posts which were part of the construction

Section 24. The country of Polans, the country of Drevlians

A stone stove which was found in the foundation pit of a dugout. From the report of V. Goncharov about the excavations of 1947

of the dwelling. Above the surface of the grounded it was elevated to not more than half a meter. The roof was most likely covered with divot and overgrown with grass which for the most part of the year merged with the vegetation of the surrounding meadows. Both in summer and in winter you could see on the surface in the area Luka only a few small hills which resembled mounds. In those turbulent times such camouflage was not superfluous. In the filling of the foundation pit they found plenty of fragments of thickwalled molded vessels, fragments of iron objects, a few ceramic spindle whorls. Actually these very ceramics were used as the foundation of the new archeological culture which was called the LukaRayky culture. A pot of the LukaRayky culture

A treasure of iron products which was found in a settlement of the Luka-Rayky culture in Dnieper area

One culture for a few “tribes” The listed below names of modern populated places with the traces of the Luka-Rayky culture can help you to envisage the geography of its spreading: Bakota, Rashkiv, Shumsk, Grygorivka, Kaniv, Monastyrok. In other words, these are lands from Dnister area and Volhynia to the middle reach of the Dnieper. The furthest to the South place was found on the bank of the Dniester estuary, in the

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Ceramic spindle whorls which were found in the area Luka

village of Shabo. All in all they have found more than two hundred places in Ukraine. Among them there are villages, ancient settlements, burial grounds. However, some time later it turned out that the spreading of the LukaRayky culture is not limited only to the territory of modern Ukraine. Since in the West it enters the territory of Moldova, Romania and the most remote place in the Southwest is situated on the territory of modern Bulgaria and in the north on the left Belarusian bank of the Prypiat. Although archeologists assumed that some time later they would be able to determine local, so to speak, tribal peculiarities. However, for now there isn’t much progress in this respect as too few new excavations are carried out. Some scientists thought that the unity of this culture consisted in the process of consolidation of part of Slavs into a certain common community. However, the presence of “tribes” (and political structures which were behind them) in written evidence is far from suggesting any consolidation. Having settled down on a considerable territory, united, probably in terms of the origin,

Vessels of the Luka-Rayky culture

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groups of the population separated and again started forming different unions, but couldn’t go farther than the level of complex chiefdoms. But it will be dealt with later. When the first settlements of the Luka-Rayky culture were built, there were enough land and forests for everybody. That’s why they chose the most convenient places: closer to water, lots of trees nearby for construction activities and more importantly, plenty of arable land, of course, of the best quality. By the way, the choice which was made by wise Slavic elders stood the test of time as quite a lot of modern villages and even towns are situated in the places which were selected by the ancestors more than one thousand two hundred years ago. The anniversaries of many annalistic cities are traced to distant past thanks to the Luka-Rayky culture. Ancient villages were small and usually numbered 20–30 constructions. The biggest ones could number up to one hundred dwellings which were situated in groups, sometimes lining up in the form of streets. They consisted of dwellings which were half-deepened in the ground (it was warmer this way) and were made of wood. The roof was made of planks and more often a layer of ground and divot covered the wooden board of the roof, which was an old and tested method. Rooms were heated “in a black way” with the help of stone stoves or stoves which were cut out of clay. The second, after dwellings, visit card of the Luka-Rayky culture is vessels. They were molded mostly by hand that’s why these products didn’t distinguish themselves either in the terms of diversity or a sophisticated form. Pots, bowls, pans of different sizes and probably that’s all. They find few local vessels which were made on a potter’s wheel, but during excavations they sometimes find containers from “overseas” foodstuffs – amphorae for wine. However, the old Slavic cuisine didn’t provide for certain diversity and it didn’t

Section 24. The country of Polans, the country of Drevlians make any difference whether this is a molded pot or a pot which was made on a potter’s wheel in order to prepare cooked cereal from spelt and emmer, the cereals which were traditional as far back as in the time of the Trypillian culture. The plots for fields which were used for growing these cereals were cut down mostly in impenetrable (for that time) forests. The cleared plot of land yielded a decent harvest in the first years and then a new area was necessary. As a result, the forests were constantly cut down as wood was the main construction A Slavic smith at work. Modern reconstruction material for fortifications, buildings, heating, to say nothing about the fact that it was burnt into coals which were Points of spears and necessary for iron extraction. In those times the forest was battle axes, the finds probably the main source of energy resources. from a settlement of the And when the forest was cut down on the banks of Luka-Rayky culture in Dnieper area rivers, settlements which were situated in flood plains became victims of severe spring floods. A spectacular exama depth of up to 10 meters from ple of this is Kyiv Podil the modern surface, having been where ancient blockInstruments of labor covered by considerable deposits of houses – the remains which were found in a river sand. And archeologists of buildings of the settlement of the LukaRayky culture in never managed to get to the layers times of Rus lie Dnieper area of the so-called early Slavic time for months at here in the first place. In those times smiths lived not only in ancient settlements, but also in villages. There were enough customers there too. Since neighbors needed cultivator points, knives, sickles and other things. They also made rather simple parts of armament: points of spears and arrows, battle axes. During excavations in settlements archeologists sometimes find whole treasures of instruments and weapons which were hidden in case of danger.

In search of Polans In a certain period the annalistic Polans were connected solely with the Luka-Rayky culture. It was quite grounded as it was thought that Polans inhabited mostly Middle Dnieper area, its right bank. However, excavations in a few places led to unexpected results. It turned out that

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Excavations of the remains of buildings of the Volyntseve culture in an eponym settlement

another culture, the Volyntseve one, was equally spread in Dnieper area. It has an interesting geography: Kyiv, Khodosivka, Obukhiv, Sosnytsya, Opishnya, Stovpyagy. And the eponym monument Volyntseve is situated on the Desna. Both settlements and burial grounds were excavated there. In other words, the Volyntseve culture is present in Dnieper area on both banks of the Dnieper and at the same time stretches to the Northeast of Ukraine. Taking into account the early dating – starting from the 7th century, we

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can make a conclusion: in a certain period its bearers managed to travel quite a lot in the search of the place for the permanent residence. Some researchers think that the Imenkovo culture which is spread on the territory of modern Russia is the source culture for the Volyntseve one. So, it is quite possible that this group of Slavs (or some part of them) came to Dnieper area from the East. However, as it is thought, we are speaking only about returning to their native heath. The thing is that the sources of the Imenkovo archeological culture are traced to the Kyiv culture which existed in Dnieper area as far back as in the times of the Gothic ruling! Some part of the local residents decided that it was better to hide in the East during hard times, but they came back to their native heath as soon as such an opportunity occurred. Having come back to their homeland, the bearers of the Imenkovo culture went to the North, to the left bank of the Dnieper. Taking into account the fact that about one hundred years later the Romny archeological culture, its successor, appeared in those lands, at first archeologists agreed that in this case we are dealing with a tribal union – most likely even an alliance of tribes which was called Severians. The interesting thing is that in a certain period Severians were noticed in Danube area, in the times when Slavs assaulted Byzantine borders. Their stay there is mentioned in the chronicle of Theophanes under the year of 671 AD, i.e. on the eve of the incursion of Bulgars headed by khan Asparuh. Severians came to the Danube from Dnieper area and probably then they came back to Dnieper area. Perhaps these were those who didn’t want to live under the Bulgar ruling. During their travels the material culture, first of all, vessels changed. The ceramics of the Volyntseve culture greatly differs from the products of the Luka-Rayky culture. And not only in terms of the form as part of the products are made on a potter’s wheel and are burnt well and are of the grey color. Once researchers considered it to be

Section 24. The country of Polans, the country of Drevlians

Ceramics of the Saltov culture which were found during excavations in Volyntseve settlements

the heritage of the Chernyakhiv culture, but between the bearers of the Volyntseve culture and the bearers of the Chernyakhiv culture there are a few centuries. Recently they have been writing more and more often about the Alan influence – the people from distant steppes who lived (by the way, quite a lot of them) in the northwestern outskirts of the Khazar khaganate. In other words, Alans “lived in the fields”, in the steppe (or in the forest-steppe). By the way, the custom of building stoves of clay blocks is connected with the same Alan traditions. For some time the ancestors of the bearers of the Volyntseve culture were their neighbors. It is quite possible that the tribal union which left the traces of the Volyntseve culture included representatives of Alans – most likely at the level of separate clans. Among them there were quite a lot of skillful craftsmen who could make high-quality ceramics with the use of a potter’s wheel and two-tiered roasting furnaces. There are also

real imports from the territory of the spreading of the Saltov culture: most often these are jugs of different sizes. Volyntseve pots are adorned with a drawn wavy ornament on shoulders and part of the products has a beautiful, molded surface. At the bottom of many pots you can often see “marks” which are similar to the ones that were found in the settlements of the Saltov culture. What strikes the imagination is not only the number of the types of ceramic pans (there are as many as five of them!), but also their quantity – almost every fifth from the number of the finds of vessels! Probably it is connected with some peculiarities of the local cuisine which are unknown to us. However, ceramic pans were necessary, first of all, for thermal treatment of the grains of glumaceous wheat – this was the only way to cook it. This is an everyday activity that’s why such vessels were broken often, which explains the big number of the finds of broken pans. Part of vessels was A cutter for wood probably made not from from a settlement clay, but from wood. of the Volyntseve During the excavations of culture one of the settlements they found a cutter for wood which had been used for working with a turning machine. The machine itself is a relatively simple device. It is known

Ceramics of the Volyntseve culture Bottoms of vessels with “marks” which were found in settlements of the Volyntseve culture

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus A point of an arrow, probably, from the quiver of a warrior-nomad which was found in a settlement of the Volyntseve culture

The remains of a stone stove in a dwelling of the Volyntseve culture

An axe from a settlement of the Volyntseve culture

that sometimes skillful craftsmen installed it right in the forest – closer to raw materials. Among the products of iron which are found in the settlements of the Volyntseve culture there are hoes which are usual for the settlements of the Saltov culture. They also found tri-blade arrowheads with short hafts which are typical for nomads. The funeral rite of the bearers of the Volyntseve culture was similar to the common Slavic rite – cremation. The ashes of the dead man were collected in a pot; they used both molded vessels and vessels which were made on a potter’s wheel. Such a set of funeral urns was found in the burial ground which is situated near the village of Volyntseve. It’s also worth noting that practically all the researchers who study the Volyntseve culture write about its possible ethnic heterogeneity. Besides the Slavic and Alan components, it may include other components which had been preserved since the beginning of the great migration of peoples. The interesting thing is that the time of the disappearance of the Volyntseve culture on the right bank of the Dnieper surprisingly coincides with the chronology of events of the first A molded vessel from a burial place of the Volyntseve culture

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half of the 8th century when the Khazar khaganate suffered defeats from the commanders of the Bagdad caliph and paid particular attention to their northwestern neighbors. Let us remind you that at that time the ancient settlement Pastyrske was destroyed and the population which lived further to the North, near Volyntseve, had to go farther to the North, along the Dnieper, and also to the basins of the Desna, the Seym. Probably the treasures of gold and silver adornments (for example, the Khoryivskyi treasure which included pendants, torcs, anthropomorphous fibulas, belt pendants) which were buried in different settlements are connected with these events. After these turbulent events the Volyntseve culture was replaced with the Romny culture on the left bank of the Dnieper. Those who stayed on the left bank form a new union with the nearest neighbors. These were the bearers of the Luka-Rayky culture. Probably it was then that the once-powerful, in terms of the number and unity, Severian union divided into two unequal parts. Its name was preserved by A knife the residents of the with a northeast. And bone haft which was those who stayed found in a on the Dnieper settlement of had to take anoththe Volyntseve er name. Probably culture it was then that approximately in the middle of the 8th century Polans who Nestor the Chronicler likes so much appeared on the political map of the Slavic chiefdoms.

A vessel from a burial place of the Volyntseve culture which was made on a potter’s wheel

Section 25

Between the Carpathians and the Dnieper n those distant times the life of most people in the lands inhabited by Slavic tribes passed mainly within the boundaries of a separate village or ancient settlement. That’s why everyday events were mostly hidden from those who wrote the history then, either the chroniclers of the time of Rus or the authors of Byzantine chronicles and “Lives of Saints”. Since these educated people were not interested in how ordinary people lived and what they did. So, the restoration of pictures and details of the life of ordinary grain growers and craftsmen appeared to be almost completely dependent on the interpretation of the results of archeological researches. It is multi-year excavations of seemingly ordinary villages with few finds and simple dwellings that allowed having a look at where ancient authors didn’t look and throwing light upon sometimes unusual and not quite clear sides of the way of life and everyday life of ancient ancestors.

I

About the role of the rope in the life of Slavs Even in these days during excavations you can’t do without such a thing as a cord, a rope. Since its use allows you to receive a right angle or to dig a pit properly and having drawn a cord, to achieve a rather straight edge of excavations or to mark the place of the necessary section. As a result of archeological excavations, during which a settlement of the Prague culture (which is known under the name Rashkiv-I) was completely excavated on the Dniester, they put forward and grounded a hypothesis that its builders had also used ropes (in those times this word could sound different, probably something like “vervie”) for the right determination of the location of each new building. This was an important rite which had not only a practical, but also a symbolic meaning1.

In general, in ancient times the rope or a clew of threads were often used both in the construction and the magic practice, especially during different rites which were connected with erecting new constructions from the choice of a place for a new building to a house-warming

The location of Slavic ancient settlements and villages which were mentioned in the text

1

You can find more details about it in the research: Я. В. Баран. Слов’янська община. — К., 2004 (Ya.V. Baran. The Slavic community), particularly p. 33—46.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus party. Some of those ancient rites have survived to this day. For instance, there are villages where when moving to a new house, first they throw a clew of threads through the open door and the members of the family, holding the thread, go inside in the order of seniority. We can only try to imagine from which depth of the past this rite (which is not the only one, by the way) came. As a result of excavations of the settlement Rashkiv researchers managed to determine not only the total number of dwellings, their construction, but also the time of the building of practically every dwelling. This made it possible to determine certain regularities which are typical for the appearance, construction and existence of the village during the life of a few generations. The village was built on the bank of the Dniester, on a rather narrow terrace which was limited by the slope of the plateau and two streams. The total area of the plot amounted to 10 hectares at the moment of the excavations. The mountain protected from wind and there was enough clean water in the streams. So, they chose a rather good place even if we take into account the possibility of an increase of the population. First they built three groups of dwellings inside of which a certain system of the location of constructions is observed. The village appeared in the first half of the 8th century and existed in this place for more than one hundred years. For this time it grew, but never occupied the whole available plot. For some reason new constructions clustered around the old ones and in some places even blocked the places of their location. It meant that sometimes they had to disassemble old buildings for new construction. One would think that this is a usual practice, especially taking into account the fact that wooden blockhouses can really be short-lived. After a thorough study of the planning it turned out that this rebuilding was not accidental and was connected most likely not with the state of constructions, but with family relations of their owners. Certain corners of houses were as if connected with lines which were not visible for the eye and were situated in a certain place at a measured distance. It is thought that the rope was an instrument for the accurate determination of the place for construction; its length was determined by the circumstances of the laying

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of a

The subsystem of linearly connected structures reconstructed by Ya.V. Baran in the location of dwellings in the early Slavic settlement Rashkiv-I. The legend: a — initially built dwellings; b — the second line of the development; c — dwellings which were built last

new building. The regularity of the location of simultaneous constructions also consisted in the fact that they were built in such a way so that they didn’t close for others the part of the wall which was adjacent to the back wall of the stove. It is for the observance of this rule that they had to disassemble the old constructions. It was forbidden to build anything on the conventional “reference line” which was made with the help of a drawn rope either. Groups of constructions in the settlement could belong to big families. Thus researchers came to the conclusion: Rashkiv-I was once founded by three or four such families. The future relatives were chosen among the nearest neighbors that’s why some time later the village appeared to be bound with family relations; this is how the structure which is called by researchers “clan” was formed. According to the results of the analysis of the location and “the linkage” of constructions, the following order of the life in the Slavic settlement was received. Fist a dwelling was built for a new family. 16–20 years passed and their children reached the marriage age. Now their turn had come “to make a nest” the location of which was linked to the corner of the parents’ house. After the death of the parents some of them stayed to live in the old dwelling. However, their children already had to build a new house as the old one became unfit some time later. New dwellings were also built by the children of those who had moved out before the younger brothers and sisters and all the dwellings within the boundaries of this big family were connected with a symbolic, invisible thread which stretched from corner to corner where the rope had been drawn at the very beginning. Probably when determining the place of the location of a new construction for relatives they used quite a real rope which turned into symbolic, invisible kinship. This rite is connected with the cult of ancestors. The word “rope” also has a hidden meaning. In some languages of the Indo-European group it can have the meaning of “family”, “posterity”. It is thought that the etymology of these words can be traced to the same source. So, it is quite possible that the idea appeared one thousand years before the appearance of the first Slavic villages. In old Russian legal codes, for example, in “Ruska Pravda”, you can find the word “verv” which is also similar to the mentioned above word “rope”. It is thought that

Section 25. Between the Carpathians and the Dnieper Reconstruction of a dwelling the remains of which were excavated in the ancient settlement Monastyrok (according to Ye.V. Maksimov and V.O. Petrashenko) Adornments from early Slavic burial places in the exposition of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine

this accord is not accidental. Since a community was called “verv”. Basing on the analysis of the contents of some codes, we can speak about the existence of the system of the fixation of family relations with the help of a rope-verv. The importance of the determination of kinship was determined by a complex system of property relations which were mostly connected with the division of the land and the rights for inheritance. With the absence of passports and other documents which are usual for us “the investigative experiment” with the rope thanks to which it was possible to restore the system of the linkage of constructions (and this way the degree of kinship of their residents) could become an important argument in a legal procedure regarding the rights for a field or a vineyard. In one of the judicial decisions which were preserved the parties to the trial were offered to take the rope-verv and to check “if there was any injustice”. The vineyard is mentioned because “verv” was used in many Slavic lands of Europe and not only to the East of the Carpathians. In this example they were speaking about distant Croatia and the legal procedure took place in the 15th century2. So, the rope was not only the means of the determination of the location of a construction, but also an important means of the settlement of judicial disputes between relatives. The word “verv” started meaning a community some time later. By the way, such communities, judging by the dating of Rashkiv, appear long before the establishment of the state, but also continue their existence in its system. How were these communities-vervs connected between one another? In the outskirts of Rashkiv there are the remains of at least six similar villages part of which existed at the same time. If they belonged to different clans, they could as well unite (and probably were united) into a political structure which is called a tribe. Such a union is supposed to have its 2

3

own fortification – ancient settlement and a common sanctuary. Unfortunately, archeologists by far not always manage to study all the system of the settlement of a tribe. Much more often excavations are concentrated on ancient settlements.

The cities of Slavic lands Big and small villages which just like in the times of the Zarubyntsi culture were grouped around fortressesancient settlements where you could find shelter in case of the attack of the enemy. Only between the San and the Siversky Donets in a certain period there were 670 of them3. Now the traces of ancient fortifications look, as a rule, rather modest. And it is not surprising as more than one thousand years have passed since their construction

A view on the remains of fortifications of an ancient settlement in the lands of Drevlians. The picture of the 1960s of the 20th century

More details about it: Греков Б. Д. Полица. Опыт изучения общественных отношений в Полице XV—XVII вв. — М., 1951 (Grekov B.D. Politsa. The experience of the study of social relations in Politsa in the 15th–the 17th century). You can find the details about the Slavic-Russian ancient settlements in the book: М. П. Кучера. Слов’яно"руські городища VIII—XIII ст. між Саном і Сіверським Дінцем. — К., 1999 (M.P. Kuchera. The Slavic-Russian ancient settlements of the 8th–the 13th century between the San and the Siversky Donets).

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The remains of earth ramparts of a Drevlian ancient settlement. The picture of the 1960s of the 20th century

The scheme of fortifications of a Drevlian ancient settlement of the 9th–the 10th century on the river Svynoluzha (according to M.P. Kuchera)

and the main construction materials were ground, clay, sometimes stones in small amounts. On the surface of the ground you can see earth ramparts which slid down and amount to a few meters now and ditches which are situated in from of them and which turned into small hollows. Fortresses were built of materials which were at hand – ground and wood. The fortifications of ancient settlements of that epoch were mostly fundamentally rebuilt in the times of Rus, but in some places they were abandoned thanks to which they were preserved. In order to build a fortress they usually chose a cape which was situated as high as possible over the river, in an extreme case on a separate, at least small elevation. Here ditches were dug and ramparts were made, wooden walls and a palisade were erected. Such fortifications couldn’t withstand 4

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a long siege or an assault of a considerable army, but they could help during a discord between tribes or in case of a sudden raid of nomads. Sometimes they find dwellings of craftsmen and the elite in ancient settlements of that time which were surrounded by a palisade and ramparts. And some of such fortified villages gave rise to real cities of Rus – administrative, military, craftsman’s centers, future “annalistic cities” among which there are Chernihiv, Pereiaslav and many others. The ancient settlement Monastyrok on the Dnieper, not far from legendary Trakhtemirov4 is one of the most studied ones in the lands of Polans. Being built on the peak of an almost forbidding mountain, it gave rise to an Old Russian city. The most known city of Polans is, of course, Kyiv; however, not everything is clear here with respect to fortifications and the traces of the city of that epoch. About twenty ancient settlements have been found on the territory of Drevlians. Drevlians not only built new, but also used old fortresses of the Scythian time for defense. A few ancient settlements were found by archeologists on the territory of the capital of the Drevlian land, Iskorosten (now the city of Korosten in the Zhytomyr region). Three of them were situated within the boundaries of the direct visibility, on the high right bank of the river. These are small ancient settlements; all of them occupied about 2.5 ha. The fourth one with an area of 9 ha, on the left bank, as it turned out, remained uninhabited, probably serving as a sanctuary during hostilities. According to the recently carried out excavations, the small ancient settlements which were situated on granite foundations had powerful fortifications – escarps, ramparts. When making ramparts they used not only wood, but also the local granite with the help of which earth banks were reinforced. After the excavations it became clear why even the wise princess Olga with a powerful Varangian army had never managed

You can find more details about the Trakhtemirov ancient settlement in chapter 1, the section “The country of forgotten cities”.

Section 25. Between the Carpathians and the Dnieper

The reconstruction of fortifications of the ancient settlement in the village of Grozyntsi and the section of fortifications according to the data of excavations (according to B.O. Tymoshchuk)

to capture ancient Iskorosten either with the help of an assault or a siege and only thanks to perfidy she had managed to conquer Drevlians. This ancient fortress served even in the 20th century, on the eve of the Second World War. In the 1930s of the 20th century adits were cut in the thickness of the rock on which ancient settlement №3 was situated; they were intended for the command post of the Korosten fortified area. An interesting observation: Polans had to pay tribute to Khazars, but Drevlian chiefs didn’t pay the khaganate at all. Although there might be attempts to levy tribute if we take into account the finds of the things of the Saltov culture on the territory of ancient settlements, for example, Iskorosten. It is clear that the political ambitions of the Drevlian elite which reached their apogee when knyaz Mal asked the widow of knyaz Igor in marriage had quite a real foundation. Ancient settlements were situated in groups, as if showing that this territory had owners who could defend it. Now about 325 ancient fortified settlements of the 8th–the 10th century are known including the ones on the territory of the Land – 287; the rest are on the territories of Belarus, Moldova and Poland. At first sight there are quite a lot of them, but ancient descriptions of the Slavic lands contain mentions about

The reconstruction of the ancient hillfort Monastyrok of the 8th–the 9th century (according to Ye.V. Maksimov and V.O. Petrashenko)

the existence of 213 cities – “civitates” only in the lands of Buzhans, 318 of the “tribe” of Ulichs, 143 of Tivertsi and 70 of Volhynians. All in all there are 744 of them and

The scheme of the location of Drevlian ancient settlements and burial grounds on the territory of the city of Korosten – the annalistic city of Iskorosten (according to B.A. Zvizdetskyi)

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The reconstruction of fortifications of the ancient settlement Revne-I which was carried out by B.O. Tymoshchuk according to the data of excavations

The time of small and big chiefs

Reconstructions and finds from an early Slavic dwelling which was excavated by V.V. Khvoika on Starokyivska Hora

these cities belonged only to four tribal unions from out of more than a dozen! In other words, the total number of Slavic fortified settlements could amount to one thousand and a half–two thousand. True, if in ancient times by the word “civitates” they meant settlements like Rashkiv-I, then the situation can look somewhat different.

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On the eve of the appearance of Rus on the political map of the part of the Land which is inhabited by Slavs, we can see up to a dozen of unions which had not only their own name, but also political centers and power-holding structures. Such unions are called by modern researchers “chiefdoms”. Chiefdoms appear in the epoch when the clannish and tribal elite start controlling the economy of their relatives and concentrate in their hands a big part of what is produced in the tribe. The power of the chief becomes not elective, but hereditary; a multi-level hierarchy of “small” and “big” chiefs appears. And not only a representative of a noble clan, but also a commander can become the chief. Since the power is supported by the force of warriors, relatives and a well-armed army. The stronger the army, the more powerful and important the chief becomes. Chiefdoms may control huge territories which not necessarily belong to related tribes. The rule of the strongest also acts here and sometimes weak clans and tribes don’t mind finding protection and mediation of a powerful chief. Such an organization of the society appeared in the Land as far back as in the times of the Trypillian culture; it existed in the 7th–the 9th century in many countries of Europe. However, after the loss of the leader such a union will most likely cease its existence. The term of the life of chiefdoms was determined not only by external factors, but also by the ability of the clan which established a foothold at the top of the power-holding structure to retain

Section 25. Between the Carpathians and the Dnieper the power, to create a dynasty. With the inevitability of the change of generations such a system begins to show signs of strain sooner or later and every one hundred–two hundred years we observe new unions-chiefdoms5 which form due to certain circumstances. As you can see from chronicles, Slavs regarded this order as “lands” which were subordinated to knyazes – to small knyazes and to “big”, “inspiring” knyazes who stand at the top of the power-holding pyramid, reporting rather to gods than to their fellow tribesmen. Each such “land”, depending on its potential and sizes, amounted to a few dozens of cities the biggest of which (or a group of cities concentrated in one place) became a capital. The biggest number of ancient settlements has been found in the lands of Severians – there are 92 of them there; the second place belongs to Croats (57) and the third place belongs to Ulichs with 52. Polans (about 20 ancient settlements) and Drevlians (23) end the list. Probably in reality there were more ancient settlements. Perhaps even small villages had fortifications in the form of ditches and palisades which left no visible traces on the surface. Since grain growers started fortifying their villages in such a way as far back as in the Neolithic Age and only excavations in large areas allowed finding these ancient fortifications. Probably the building of cities was considered to be not only necessary, but also prestigious as sometimes knyazes-chiefs rebuilt even abandoned ancient settlements of the Scythian time. Each such land had a chance to turn into quite an independent state (principality, kingdom) some time later. Actually such processes were carried out everywhere in the lands of Europe which were inhabited by Slavs. The most powerful elite could have pretensions to the role of the regional leader or could even compete for the consolidation of all Slavic lands. Judging by the scales and power of unions, Severians and Drevlians approached the closest to this cherished goal on the territory of Ukraine. But Severians were just unlucky – in the middle of the 8th century they appeared under the blow of the Khazar khaganate and almost immediately quit the competition for the leadership in the Land. Drevlians seemed to have hidden in their dense forests. Having defended their independence, they were probably quite ready to receive the main prize some time later – the title (and the supreme power) of the consolidator of the Land, gradually moving their fortressesancient settlements from the Zhytomyr forests to the banks of the Dnieper-Slavutych. In those times the land of Polans didn’t stand out either in terms of the number of communities or the might of fortresses. Besides, Polans paid tribute to Khazars. 5

Modern reconstructions of fortifications of Slavic ancient settlements (Moravia)

However, Drevlians and other Slavic chiefdoms of the Land had powerful competitors whose interests were at fist limited to trade and sometimes robbery. Far in the North Novgorod Slavs encountered an oncoming flow of people from the North. Their few representatives also built villages on the banks of rivers in the present Novgorod province of Russia. One of these villages which was once built on the bank of the river Volkhov and which turned into a city some time later was called Aldeigjuborg by the newcomers from the North who settled down in

Which are represented by one or sometimes a few archeological cultures.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Silver dirgems which were found during excavations in the ancient settlement Monastyrok

this place. Slavs called this village Ladoga and its residents were called Varangians. A stream of silver of Eastern dirgems flowed along trade routes from the South to Aldeigjuborg and then farther to the North, to Scandinavia. The residents of Aldeigjuborg and their Scandinavian relatives didn’t mind receiving this silver as much as possible. However, in order to do this, they had to move closer to its sources, to the South in order to control the process more properly. Near the middle of the 9th cen-

Points of spears which were found during excavations of a village of the Luka-Rayky culture on the river Tyasmyn

tury the residents of AldeigjuborgLadoga went to the South in order to get silver and sonorous glory. And all the further history would form in such a way that it was not Drevlian Iskorosten-Korosten, but multi-language Aldeigjuborg-Ladoga that would aspire to the honorary title of “the first capital of Rus”. However, if the power in the Land had been captured by Severian or Drevlian chiefs then, probably this very country would have had quite a different name.

Adornments from early Slavic burial places in the exposition of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine

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Section 26

When empires decay he initial history of almost every European country of the time of the Middle Ages is cloaked in legends from which historians try to get some facts in order to make an expressive and clear version of events which occurred in those times. Rus is not an exception in this respect. Its appearance on the political map of Europe approximately in the middle or in the second half of the 9th century falls on the times of political instability of at least four empires of the Old World. In Europe this is the Holy Roman Empire which was created by Charles the Great and also the once-mighty Byzantine Empire, in Asia, Africa and in the outskirts of Europe this is the Arab caliphate. And finally next to Slavic lands one more empire – the Khazar khaganate was going through hard times.

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The golden time had come for many tribes and peoples who appeared to be beyond the boundaries of the mentioned above empires. On the one hand, the powerful neighbors weakened their grasp, their conquering ardor was almost cooled and on the other hand, rather wealthy

(as compared to the nearest outskirts) lands and cities of the empires became more accessible for brave leaders (knyazes, konungs, jarls, khans, beys – the title will change depending on the country and epoch). Besides, trade could bring huge profit.

Empires at the turn of the 8th–the 9th centuries

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus With one hundred warriors a daring leader could become a defender of merchants and rob one or two dozens of villages or even a small town, offer his services to a knyaz or a wealthy city profitably. And if he had one thousand warriors, he could control trade routes or even create his own small kingdom, offer his services to a rather wealthy king or an emperor. And having gathered an army of a few thousand warriors, sometimes he could even think of creating his own empire. In any case he had a chance to get rich, to acquire Glory and lands.

Wealth, power and glory At that time there were two main possibilities of gathering a detachment of warriors. You could unite related clans and tribes, having received their consent to go on a campaign with the help of promises of fabulous treasures, pastures and lands somewhere behind the horizon. And if the circle of relatives is limited and they are not numerous, you can hire a detachment or an army for silver. In those dark times there were enough professionals for whom war became an everyday activity and a way of life. In this case a question arose: where to get silver, to accumulate “the primary capital” when there isn’t enough strength to take it by force yet? Trade was quite a legal way to do it. The appearance of Aldeigjuborg-Ladoga on the banks of the river Volkhov approximately in the middle of the 8th century is connected with trade expeditions of Vikings to the lands of Ugric-Finnish and then also Slavic tribes. Archeological expeditions which have been intensively carried out by Russian archeologists here for the last

Modern reconstruction of protective armor, weapons and costumes of the time of Vikings. A tournament in the Kyiv fortress, the May of 2006

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Excavations of Russian archeologists and the finds which were discovered in Old Ladoga – Aldeigjuborg, the beginning of the 21st century

decade reveal some details of this economic (and then also political) “wonder”. It’s worth noting that the attention to these researches in Russia has been shown on the highest level; holding the post of the president, Vladimir Putin visited the place of the work of the Ladoga expedition a few times. The swampy land preserved the remains of buildings made of wood. The cut of blocks makes it possible to determine with the accuracy of up to one year when the tree which was used during the construction was cut down. One of the blocks gave an old and unexpected for many researchers date – the year of 755 AD. On the basis of this the anniversary of the foundation of the city which is considered by our northern neighbors to be connected with the origin of the Russian statehood was celebrated on the official level. Excavations showed that the village built-up with wooden constructions extended gradually. The presence of craftsmen (workshops were found) and merchants (the finds of coins, things which could be sold including the ones from remote territories) and also appropriate fortifications give good reasons to call Aldeigjuborg a city. In

Section 26. When empires decay

A masterpiece of Scandinavian shipbuilding – the Gokstad ship which was found in a burial place on the territory of Norway

the outskirts of Old Ladoga even now there are plenty of burial mounds under which its ancient residents are buried. Among the excavated burial places there are graves of warriors, craftsmen and some of them are connected with rulers or commanders. Gradually the city became multi-tribal. Its residents – Scandinavians, the local inhabitants and Slavs organized the production of goods which were willingly exchanged – adornments of glass, metal, iron instruments. Trade routes were laid along the sacred paths of aboriginals which had been laid almost in the Bronze Age. They reached the countries which were really rich in silver and even gold – Khazaria, the Byzantine Empire. Most likely this trade was controlled and directed by representatives of Scandinavian peoples. Finns called some of them rots, ruotsi, rotsi (which can be pronounced as “rus”) and Slavs (as it is mentioned in the chronicle) called the newcomers from Northern countries “Varangians” without making a special difference between Danes and Swedes. In the same way in Europe the expatriates from the North were called “Northmen” or “Vikings”. Since the word “Varangian” took root both in our lands and in Russia, let’s speak in greater detail about its meaning and origin and also about the word “Viking” which accompanies it in domestic historical works.

Vikings and Varangians, the new “people of the sword” These two words “Vikings” and “Varangians” (and probably also “Normans”) more than one thousand two hundred years ago sounded alarming in many languages of the Old World, as ferocious as in past times the words

Modern reconstruction of a boat of the time of Vikings which was built in Ukraine

“Scythians”, “Germanic peoples”, “Huns” or “Slavs”. And everybody understood well who (and more importantly, what) they were speaking about. And they didn’t confuse at all or at least they tried not to confuse Vikings and Varangians. Since such a mistake could cost them their life or their purse (and often both at the same time). Centuries have passed and the adequate interpretation of the initial meaning of the terms “Viking” and “Varangian” became available only to historians who, by the way, never get tired of arguing about their origin. Sometimes you can meet the use of the word Viking as an ethnicon with respect to the residents of Scandinavian countries. It’s worth noting that such a use of this word is as correct as it is correct to use the word combination “Russian mafia” with respect to all Russian-speaking citizens of the former USSR. It’s worth saying that a representative of any tribe could become a Viking in ancient times; the main condition was that he was supposed to wield a sword (a spear, an axe) well and also to follow certain rules. The origin of the notion “Viking” is not considered to be ascertained completely. Most often this word is traced to the old Scandinavian word vRk – a bay, a mouth. If you add to this word the suffix ing which means the belonging, the origin, then you will get the word Viking which will mean something like “a man from the bay”. Indeed Scandinavia is also called “the country of fiords”, i.e. bays. However, the etymology of the word doesn’t explain its essence. Since the same word “vik” was used in such phrases like “to go on a vik”. And they didn’t mean a sail in boats along the bay, but a sea raid of professional warriors who were armed to the teeth with the purpose of appropriating other people’s property and capturing slaves.

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Vikings attack. Modern reconstruction of weapons and the battle tactics

In order to define such an activity there is a related word in European languages: “piracy”, i.e. the title “Viking” quite corresponds to the title “pirate”. Just like the latter one, it cannot be seriously regarded as an ethnicon since the composition of the battle brotherhoods of Vikings is know from written sources. By the way, under certain circumstances they also included representatives of the so-called Slavic tribe. Archeologists studied a similar settlement on the island near the city of Wolin (on the territory of modern Poland). Here they found objects of both the Scandinavian and Slavic origin. In other words, perhaps everybody who went on a campaign to acquire glory and wealth at their own peril and risk was called a Viking. Another word “Varangian” was used in chronicles. It also has the Scandinavian origin; vaeringjar is probably derived from vringjar – “a man of the sword”. Another interpretation is derived from the word vaeringi – “loyal”, the ones who “made a vow”. Judging by the context of ancient chronicles, as a rule, this word is used with respect to expatriates from Scandinavia who live far from their historical homeland. Starting from the 11th (or the end Weapons and treasures of Vikings which are exhibited in museums of Scandinavian countries of the 10th) century Byzantine emper-

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Section 26. When empires decay Points of spears of the Scandinavian pattern. The 9th–the 10th century

ors acquired an elite guard of “Varangians” which at first included Scandinavians and then all volunteers. Besides swords, the guard was armed with huge axes which neither shields nor chain armor could withstand. The last Varangians-guardsmen died, defending Constantinople from crusaders in 1204. Thus the word “Varangian” looked much more decent in the eyes of contemporaries as compared to the word “Viking”. In the real history all these niceties were sometimes interwoven in a fanciful way just like the destiny of countries and people. Today you are a decent man, a Varangian, a merchant or a hired warrior who serves a king or a knyaz and tomorrow you are an outlaw and live according to the rules of the set-

The Varangian guard of Byzantine emperors. Miniatures from an ancient manuscript

A military camp of the time of Vikings – Trelleborg in Denmark. Modern view

tlements of freemen and outlaws or a military brotherhood, you are a Viking. Thanks to chronicles and sagas we know, for example, about the legendary Jomsvikings, the elite company of professional warriors which created a certain code of conduct. Jomsvikings quite legally offered their services to monarchs or pretenders to the throne. The members of the brotherhood lived in a military camp-fortress which was situated on an island in the middle of a river where women were not admitted (you can’t but notice analogy with Zaporizhian Sich). Jomsvikings took a vow which among other issues bound them to stand for one another till the very end. Scandinavian monarchs willingly hired them, although it was rather expensive. Besides, Vikings often strived to legalize their status and were nothing loath to occupy a higher position in the society. What unites Vikings and Varangians is their mainly Scandinavian origin. The same can be said about the culture, Scandinavian swords in a especially about museum on the territory of Germany the military one.

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus Warriors of the North gave rather poetic names to their weapons and armor, which was indicated in sagas. Let’s take, for example, the names of swords “Flame of Odin”, “Combat Snake” and finally the one who “Damages the Combat Cloth”. A double-edged, sometimes single-bladed sword with the length of about 70-80 cm was perfectly suited to hitting an adversary whose body was covered with this “battle cloth”. A long, to the knees iron shirtchain armor was called battle cloth by the warriors of the North. Having been made of many thousands of welded or riveted rings, it was sometimes also called “The grey clothes of Odin” or “The Cloak of Kings”, but most often simply “Combat Cloth”. A battle shield was sometimes called even in a more poetic way: “The Sun of the Battle”, “The roof of Odin’s hall”, “Hilda’s Wheel” (Hilda is a Valkyrie; every true Viking dreamt of feasting with these representatives of the fair sex in the chambers of Odin, the ferocious and mighty

god. Of course, you could get there only after you died in a battle field). Even in peacetime disputes were settled by Scandinavians not in court, but in a single battle with weapons in their hands (true, a single battle was assigned by court). The rules of such a single battle were strictly regulated. Sometimes with this purpose warriors secluded themselves on unpopulated islands; some time later even professional “battle partners” appeared and you could hire them for an appropriate fee. In any case, war became an everyday activity of thousands of people for many generations. In order to estimate at least approximately (but quite visually) the battle might of Vikings (or Varangians), it’s worth attending one of the reconstruction festivals which are now held in different cities and areas of Ukraine and beyond its boundaries. Here you can not only have the pleasure to see quite decent reconstructions of clothes and weapons of those times, but also to see ancient warriors in action.

Varangians attack. The tournament in the Kyiv fortress, the May of 2006

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Section 26. When empires decay Vikings, everybody in their own way, for more than two hundred years left their trace in the lands of Europe, Asia, Africa and even got to the New World. There are also their traces on the territories and in the history of our Land of that time.

The hakan of the Rus In those distant times when Drevlians, Polans and their neighbors were unhurriedly determining which of them would rule on the Dnieper route and which of them would finally unite once again Slavic principalities-chiefdoms under their leadership, “Rus” reached Dnieper area approximately in the middle of the 9th century. It was preceded by some events in the North when the local Slavs and “Chudes” (i.e. Ugric-Finnish tribes) either invited these Varangians or made them go away behind the sea. The results of these events were spread like circles on the water in near and distant European (and not only) outskirts. Once “the hakan of the Rus” who ruled in the North, as many scientists think (but not all), sent ambassadors to Constantinople who came there probably along the Dnieper route. And when these ambassadors who were The knights of the 14th–the 15th century repulse the attack of Varangians. The Kyiv fortress, the May of 2006

Once in spring I happened to see such a battle at a festival in the Kyiv fortress. These were minibattles in which only a dozen of participants took part from both sides. Of course, the scale was different as compared to the one near Hastings, but you can get some views of military clashes of ancient times. It’s worth noting that this time the situation was not historical: a detachment of European knights of the 14th–the 15th century resisted warriors with the armor and weapons of VarangiansVikings. When the Varangian wedge entered into a clash with the formations of armor-clad warriors of the time of the Hundred Years' War, awful clangs and clatter was heard. The warriors of the North immediately went through the lines of their enemy, having torn them to pieces; then the battle turned into a clash in which they, being more mobile, had certain advantages. Only on the third try the knights understood what they must do: they parted and then encircled the Varangians and started finishing them with the help of halberds. Observing this spectacle, I thought: probably the same situation was in mainland Europe and also in Britain one thousand years ago; not at once and not everybody understood who (and what) they were dealing with and more importantly, what exactly they must do in such a situation. Being perfectly armed, hardened in numerous big and small battles, Normans, just like Varangians and

Vikings under the walls of a fortress. A reconstruction festival on the island of Wolin

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus A fragment of a sword of the time of Vikings which was found on the territory of the Land, the 10th century

Vikings assault a fortress. A reconstruction festival on the island of Wolin

coming back along a roundabout way appeared in 839 in the court of the Frank king Louis the Pious, it turned out that these were old acquaintances, Swedes–suenorum who at that time already had quite an established reputation of pirates! Of course, the vigilant Franks accused the newly minted ambassadors of espionage in favor of Vikings. However, having thought it over, they let them go with peace after all: either the letter of the Byzantine emperor Theophilos produced its influence or the king of Franks decided not to conflict with a mysterious “hakan of the Rus”. In any case, the Rus-Swedes continued their way if only we knew where – to the mysterious “hakan of the Rus” or to their homeland in the North, to Scandinavia. We can try to understand the Europeans; being experienced in politics, etiquette and other niceties, they were familiar with the meaning of the title “hakan”, i.e. “khagan” and knew that the ruler of the steppe empire A warrior’s amulet, th could bear it. Since not long the 10 century ago Franks had to wage a long and intense war with the Avar khaganate which settled down in the center of Europe. The title of the khagan could correspond to the title of the emperor. It was also strongly associated with horse hordes which penetrated deep in the West. So, the Rus stated the king of

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Franks that their ruler was an emperor whose subjects included not only the Rus-Swedes, but also other tribes and peoples. There is also a version that the hakan of the Rus ruled not somewhere, but on the territory of the spreading of the Saltov culture. Such a hakan and probably the Rus themselves could get hired and the more so represent his interests in Europe, why not? The possibility of the combination in the military contingent of the probable enemy of furious infantrymen-Vikings and hordes of horse nomads who go to a battle almost with a complete set of knightly weapons could probably strike the imagination and produce an appropriate impression on any European politician of that epoch. However, Varangian who settled down in the Northeast seemed to have quite different plans. It is an odd coincidence, but only three years would pass after the mentioned above embassy from the hakan of the Rus when approximately in 842 messages about the raids of “the Rus” on the shore of the Black Sea appeared. Those who came in 860 to the walls of Constantinople were called “the Rus from a northern country” by the patriarch Photios. However, if we look from Constantinople, even Kyiv is already the North. Who are they, the mysterious Rus of ancient chronicles and annals? Slavs, Scandinavians or some other people?

Vikings. Modern reconstruction

Section 27

Rus and the people of Rus he bishop of Cremona Liutprand who in the 10th century visited the capital of the Byzantine Empire twice noted that “to the North of Constantinople there live Ugrics, Pechenegs, Khazars, the Rus who are called by us differently as Northmen… by Greeks as Rusios, i.e. light, basing on the peculiarities of their body and we call them, basing on their location as Northmen because in the Teutonic language it means people from the North.” The interesting thing is that none of the mentioned above peoples lives now in the places where the bishop of Cremona put them. Ugrics, aka Magyars or Hungarians, live in the center of Europe, rather far from Istanbul (this is how Constantinople is called now). And as for Pechenegs and Khazars, mainly professional historians and some of the schoolchildren and students at the moment of taking tests know who they are. And the Rus-Rusios haven’t been called as Northern people by anybody in Europe for long, even speaking the Teutonic language. Who are they, Northmen, as every Teuton (i.e. German) knows exactly that the Rus are Russians. The thing is that the old Rus and Russians are differentiated today only by professional historians and again not by all of them. To say nothing about the fact that when considering the events of the days gone by more thoroughly, you can notice that there is still a certain difference between those who were called (and called themselves) the Rus in the 9th and the 10th centuries, not to mention the 11th and the 12th centuries.

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The riddle of the name Historians and especially those lovers of antiquities who call themselves historians have created a striking number of explanations of the name of the country Rus and the ethnicon (the name of the people) “the Rus”. More than one thousand years ago the authors of the Old Rus chronicles were concerned with this question; in the recent three hundred years plenty of people who are interested in this question have also focused their attention on it. For the chronicler who was concerned with this question everything was simple and clear: “And the name of the Rus land is derived from those Varangians”. However, with an increase of literate people in Rus and especially a few hundred years later quite a logical question arose in the Russians state: how could the name of the Rus land be possibly derived from Varangians? Varangians are not actually Russians, how can it be so? They started creating and still create theories which are intended to explain how it all happened “in reality”.

All the numerous theories of the origin of the name “Rus” and “the Rus” can be divided into three groups by their nature. The most numerous versions (which are sometimes very funny and even exotic) belong to the groups which are conditionally called “geographical” and “ethnotribal”. It is up to the reader to decide whether they are worthy of trust. Geographical theories mainly depend on the place of residence of their authors including the ones within the boundaries of the lands of Rus. Thus the authors from the territories of the Land propose that the name “Rus” is

Europe and the Land in the time of the invitation of Varangians

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Chapter 2. From the Antes to Rus derived from the river Ros (the right tributary of the Dnieper), the authors from the Russian North propose Rus – Rusa – Ruza. It has also been suggested that Rus is derived from the word “ruslo (riverbed)”: Russians means river people. And finally, there is a foreign theory: Rus is derived from Roslagen, the name of the Southern shore of Sweden. If you look for the corresponding toponyms on the map of the world (not necessarily in Europe or Asia), the geography can be extended to the planetary scales. Ethnotribal theories contain a very long list of the names of ancient tribes and peoples which were taken from the works of antique authors, Arab merchants and all this has a different degree of reliability and fiction. The main thing in such searches is to catch the accord in the first three letters; it can be only the first letter, but as it turned out later, even this is not obligatory. The main thing is that there must be the letter “r” in a word, preferably in the first place. So, “Rus” and “the Rus” are derived from Rosomoni, Roxolanis, Borusks, Prussians, Rugii, Rutheni, Rustri (this list is far from being complete). The Finnish name of Swedes – rus – rots, ruotsi, rotsi is of particular interest. By the way, it is in the Finnish language that the form sounds as “RUS” (the name of the country for Slavs). In the Slavic translation the word sounds just like we are used to reading it in chronicles: RUSY (the Rus). All this looks rather trustworthy. The Finnish language and also some other languages preserved the tribal name of Veneti for the definition of Slavs, just like the name of the tribal union of Krivichi for Russia in others. It is sometimes thought that the very word “rus” is derived from the words of the Old Swedish language which are connected with such notions as rowing, navigation, sailing, the names of the participants of sea cam-

paigns on boats with oars. All such words have the common root rÇß: rÇßslagen, rÇßsmadr, rÇßskarl and it is not very far from rÇßs to ros which is understood by anybody. The variants of its writing in different languages are the following: In Greek – “rosy” (sometimes with double “s”), in Arab – “rusy”, in Finnish – ruotsi, in Estonian – roots and finally in the Old Russian chronicles it is “rus”. Some researchers think that in the 8th–the 9th century the name “rus” was adopted and then used by the residents of some Northern lands of Europe (including Ugric-Finnish tribes and Slavs who settled down nearby) in order to name the people who were included into the armies of warriors and merchants mostly of the Scandinavian origin. They could include Danes, Swedes, Norwegians. In other words, probably no people or tribe with the name “rus” existed at least at that very time. Then this notion was not connected with certain events or some land yet: the Rus roamed, being concerned with trade or war. You could also hire the Rus in order to use them for the settlement of certain problems – either internal or external ones. When under certain circumstances the Rus headed by one of the most successful leaders (we will speak about him later) were invited, as it is written in the chronicle, then at once they received a unique chance which they successfully took. One hundred years passed and in the lands from the Baltics to the Black Sea it was honorable and prestigious to be a Ruthenian1. Apart from the geographical-ethnotribal researches there is also a feudal theory: Rus is derived from the name of the imperial fief (territories) of the knyaz-konung Rurik – Rustingen (this konung and also his imperial territories will be dealt with in greater detail later).

The fundamentals of Scandinavian lands – the place of the settlement, the reconstruction of an ancient building and adornments 1

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This story partially resembles the way which was covered by Cossacks in Ukraine and Russia: from the military and initially free state to the service class and even a special ethnographic group with a prospect of evolving into a separate ethnos with their own statehood. If Cossacks about three hundred years ago had been more successful in the field of politics, then a state with an appropriate name might have as well appeared in Europe.

Section 27. Rus and the people of Rus A point of a spear of the Scandinavian type from the territory of Rus

It won’t be a discovery to say that in the history of Europe (including the medieval one) it happened more than once that a tribe or even an army of conquerors gave their name to other countries and peoples that were situated rather far from the historical homeland of the newcomers. It also happened that later these names appeared to be erased by further history in their homeland. It is another matter how viable these names were in a strange land and how they changed in the course of time. This is how the names of European counties and localities which are usual for us today appeared (every name in its own time): France, Normandy, Bulgaria, Hungaria (aka Hungary). This list could as well include the name of Rus if we took the record of the chronicler on trust: “… those Varangians were called the Rus, just like some others were called Svear2, some others were called Urmans3... and some others were called Goths [Dutchmen]”.

The invitation of Rurik He founded a dynasty which for more than one thousand years reigned in one of the biggest and sometimes the most powerful states on the planet Earth. The number of princely and aristocratic families which proudly called and call themselves “Rurikids” strikes the imagination. Chronicles mentioned his name only five times (for the last time they called the juvenile knyaz Igor the son of Rurik), having also indicated the time of his ruling: between 862 and 879. Rurik ruled in Rus for seventeen years. For a few years his residence was Old Ladoga-Aldeigjuborg and then Holmgard – Novgorod was chosen to be the capital. The ancient settlement near it which was called Rurikovo became the new residence of the knyaz-konung. The finds of signet rings in the cultural layer of this settlement suggest the significance of this place. Since such rings were once used to affix the seal on important documents including interstate ones. It’s a pity that those parchments were not preserved. If the archives of Rurik were intact, probably there would be a little less disputes among historians. According to the chronicle, he was invited to rule in the country which suffered severely due to the absence of personalized authority, i.e. a knyaz. They had everything else, but they didn’t have a knyaz, especially the one whose authority would be accepted by everybody. The situation doesn’t look exceptional if we remember the pecu-

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The invitation of Varangians in the picture by M.V. Vasnetsov

liarities of the organization of ancient chiefdoms in which the supreme power the embodiment of which in those lands was a knyaz occupied a special place. The invitation of Varangians was once interpreted as the evidence of the pathologic inability of Eastern Slavs to organize any system of management, especially the state one. Allegedly the observations of Byzantines which were given in chronicles and treatises about the absence of common, firm authority, the tendency to anarchy and things like that confirmed this thesis indirectly. However, here we see a point of view of people who lived within the framework of a state with a one thousand year tradition of the organization of power and a rather developed bureaucracy. Romei and Greeks forgot a long time ago what a developed tribal order was and looked at Slavs practically in the same way as a Russian ethnographer in the 19th century looked at the aboriginals of New Guinea – with interest and complete incomprehension. However, in order to invite somebody to rule over them, Slavs, to be more exact their elite (or its part), would still have to come to some agreement. Especially taking into account the fact that they invited to reign, i.e. to occupy a vacant position. Taking into consideration the multinational composition of the local chiefdom which included not only Slavs, but also Baltic and Ugric-Finnish tribes, it hadn't been created on the eve of the invitation of Varangians. Such political projects require some time. If you also remember that at that time (and we are speaking about the second half of the 9th century) Slavs who were “incapable” of statehood had already managed to create in Europe a few kingdoms, principalities, to say nothing about the fact that they had reshaped the borders of two empires (the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire), then the story about the implementation of true statehood by Varangians who were invited with this purpose

Swedes. Norwegians.

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A monument to the one-thousand-year anniversary of Russia (not Rus) which was opened in Novgorod in 1862

from behind the sea doesn’t look very convincing. The invited knyaz, relying on a considerable military force, acted as an ordinary European monarch, giving fiefs to his knightscompanions-in-arms. And he gave not just the lands of Slavic tribes and their neighbors – Slovenes, Krivichi, Muromians, grain growing villages. The lands were given together with cities, basing on the names – tribal centers: Polotsk, Biloozero, Rostov and Murom were mentioned. There were clearly not enough cities and lands for all “companions” of Rurik. Perhaps the knyaz had gathered a much bigger army than the local Slavic and other tribes could feed at that time. The ones who didn’t receive any lands were either got rid by the knyaz or they themselves went to the South, to the warm sea, to Constantinople. Probably there were a few such detachments and commanders, but the chronicles preserved only the names of two of them who were luckier (at first) than the others. Since the destiny gave them almost two dozens of years of life on campaigns, princely power, glory and silver. However, then a new knyaz came from the North and took away everything from them, even their life. It is written in the chronicle that these commanders were called Askold and Dir (the chronicle also calls them “warriors” and “boyars”), but we will speak about their story later, giving proper attention to their suzerain Rurik.

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Following the traces of konung Rurik It would be surprising if nobody knew anything about Rurik in Europe. Historians of different countries of Europe managed to find rather sparse records which were connected with the events of the middle of the 9th century. He is called either as Rorik of Jutland or Rorik of Friesland. It’s worth noting that the name Rurik (Rorik) was spread in the North of Europe and in Scandinavia. In the masonry of the wall of the church in Norrsund (Sweden) they found a stone with a runic inscription on which you could read this name in the local transcription – Hrœrekr.

The name “Hrœrekr” on a runic stone which was part of the wall of a Christian temple

Section 27. Rus and the people of Rus Points of spears of the time of Old Rus

The konung, i.e. the knyaz, Rurik (Rorik) of Dorestad was probably born between 805–820 AD. Dorestad which is situated on the bank of the river Rhine was at that time one of the biggest and wealthiest cities of the Holy Roman Empire and probably one of the biggest trade centers in Northern Europe. Here on behalf of the emperor coins which were sometimes copied by the rulers of the kingdoms of Scandinavia were minted. In 834 AD the city was robbed by Danish Vikings who later visited it more than once. So, already in his youth Rurik had a chance to get acquainted with glorious warriors (and pirates) from the North quite closely. Perhaps already then he made important and useful acquaintances in Scandinavia which later (who knows?) played an important role in his further destiny. For the first time the name Rurik-Rorik is mentioned in connection with the raid of Vikings in 845 AD on the lands of Frisia. In 850 the konung waged war on the territory of Denmark, robbed Frisia and the banks of the river Rhine. By the way, as far back as in the 9th century the riverside area of Frisia was called Wieringen, which can be pronounced as “Vierega”. It’s worth noting that Vierega is not very far from “Varangians” of Old Russian chronicles. And Frisians themselves were called by some of their neighbors as “Rustres” – probably this was a tribal name. The emperor Lothair I decided to bring the konung who was so lucky in battles on his side. Rorik was christened and then chronicles mention that lands in Friesland were given to him by the Holy Roman Empire. The province in the lands of Eastern Friesland was called “Rustingen” as far back as in the 17th century. Probably these lands were not enough for Rurik; he started waging war on his neighbors and devastated a few cities including Hedeby (857 AD) and

A coin which was minted in the city of Dorestad in the time of Rorik of Jutland

Bremen (859 AD). So, if this very konung ruled in Novgorod after 862 AD, then his desire to get rid of the military men who were left without plots of land is explained to a considerable extent by the personal life experience of Rurik of Dorestad. In the end, in 860 AD the emperor deprived the too bellicose knyaz of all his lands. Usually the next step with such punishment was to declare the feudal lord an outlaw. It was necessary to save your life in such a situation. And indeed Rurik disappears from Frank chronicles (and probable from the territory of the empire as well) for 10 years. It is not very difficult to compare the year Rurik started having problems in the lands of the empire, the year of 860 AD, with the date of the invitation of Varangians to Rus, the year of 862 AD. So, the assumptions of some researchers regarding the fact that the konung from Dorestad and the knyaz who was invited by Chudes, Slovenes, Krivichi and Ves “to rule and judge according to the law” are the same person don’t look too incredible. At that time Rurik of Dorestad was supposed to be a rather distinguished, experienced, influential (and well-known) person with certain reputation in order to head quite a big formation of the Rus from the Southern shore of Sweden. Probably at that moment there were no questions concerning the fact to what extent the konung with such a tumultuous past was capable of ruling and judging according to the law. However, ten years passed when finally in 870 AD Rurik of Friesland who had been missing appeared in his historical homeland once again. True, during the past years the glorious city of Dorestad disappeared from the face of the earth: after the flood and storms in 864 AD it was washed away by the riverbed of the Rhine which had shifted. But more importantly, the authority changed and the new emperor, Charles the Bald, not remembering the past sins, returned Rurik the territories in Friesland. And if Rurik came back from Novgorod (by the way, the way from Novgorod to Friesland is twice as near than to Constantinople and if you go by sea, it is even closer), then some time later this event could have certain legal consequences for Rus as a state. Since the ruler of distant Rus also remained a vassal of the emperor at the same time. And he remained such a vassal till his death in 879 AD!

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This is what the druzhinniks of Rurik could look like. The reconstruction festival near Chernihiv

However, neither Charles the Bald nor his successors had any complaints in connection with this circumstance with regard to the knyazes of Rus either then or later. Probably it was because in accordance with the customs the fief in Friesland was inherited by the elder son of Rurik (and together with the territories he also inherited all the obligations with respect to the emperor). And also the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal; this is the golden rule of the feudal reality of the Europe of those times. A distant, almost fabulous in those times country which was called Rus was inherited by the younger son of Rurik – Igor. Who could imagine in educated Christian Europe then what Rus would become one hundred and especially one thousand years later! And if Charles the Bald awarded that very Rurik, then the Holy Roman Empire of the German people missed a historical chance to extend their boundaries far, very far to the East in quite a legal and more importantly, peaceful way. And in the future that took place this Empire and its too bellicose successors would be punished severely more than once or twice by the successors of Rurik’s Rus for their attempts to solve the Eastern question by force. And what about Rus?... As far back as ten and a half centuries ago for the first time Rus spoiled the chance to integrate into Europe without any procrastination, having headed for the future along their own ways which were understandable and clear only to them.

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There are also less reliable data about either the Finnish or the Norwegian origin of Rurik. In the 18th century earl Tatishchev had at his disposal the so-called Ioachim Chronicle in which the first knyaz of Rus was called the son of “a Varangian knyaz” and Umila, the middle daughter of a Slavic ruler. Actually the son of the knyaz received Rus in accordance with the last will, from his grandfather-ruler (on the distaff side) who was called Gostomysl. The latter acted in the way a ruler was supposed to act: in accordance with the predictions of soothsayers. There are also other plots. For instance, at the beginning of the 18th century in Mecklenburg a story was written; it consisted in the fact that once upon a time there lived three brothers, the children of the king of the Slavic tribe of Obodrites (called Godlav) who once headed together for a distant country which was called Russia which suffered from the burden of tyranny. Of course, the brothers renewed order and justice in the country, having received for this an invitation from the local residents to rule over them, and then they received their father’s blessing for this. The elder brother, Rurik, received Novgorod for ruling and after the death of his brothers he received Pleskov-Pskov and Biloozero. “The Mecklenburg legend” looks attractive, but some of its details and especially the circumstances and the time it appeared arouse doubt in its plausibility. All the more that none other than His Serene Highness Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov who in those years was close to the Russian throne appeared to be involved in it to a certain extent. It was him who was looking for noble ancestors among the elite of Western Slavs who had lived in the lands where that very Mecklenburg would be built later. So, the knyaz was nothing loath to derive his genealogy directly from the origin of the Russian state. Since it was not possible to verify this entire story, but the high (especially in Russia of the time of Peter I) authority of the German science was supposed to work in this case in favor of Aleksandr Danilovich. The knyaz, striving to get closer to the throne, even managed to betroth his daughter, Maria, to the emperor Peter II. If Aleksandr Danilovich had stayed at the helm of state, then the Mecklenburg legend could as well be learnt in the school course of history of Russia now.

The secret of the genealogy of Rurikids We have mentioned above only a small part of the researches of the genealogy of the founder of the Rurik Dynasty. The dispute is mainly connected with the fact whether it is traced back to Scandinavian ancestorsNorthmen or its roots are solely Slavic. This dispute has lasted for more than one or two hundred years. However, at the beginning of the third millennium AD modern science (by the way, not history, but molecular biology)

Section 27. Rus and the people of Rus offered a possibility of going deeper into some of the secrets of the genealogy of the rulers of Rus. This story started with the fact that Yuriy Obolenskyi, a knyaz from the Rurik Dynasty (they also say that he was a supporter of the “Northman” theory), decided to confirm his genealogy with the help of modern scientific methods. However, it turned out that his kin is traced back to the Slavic and not Scandinavian ancestor. Journalists from Newsweek who organized the analysis of the DNA of knyaz Obolenskyi were equally surprised and probably equally happy: the material appeared to be sensational. Then the analyses of the DNA of a few knyazes from different branches of the Rurik Dynasty were made. It turned out that from the invitation and to a certain moment the family of Rurik had solely Scandinavian-Finnish roots4, which is confirmed by the presence of haplogroup N1c (also called N3)5. And only about 800 years ago Slavs really appeared in one of the branches of Rurikids. Eight centuries ago; so, it means in the 12th century6. In other words, for the previous almost two and a half centuries Rus was ruled by the dynasty of the Scandinavian-Finnish origin. The analysis of the DNA of another Rurik, knyaz Dmitriy Shakhovskoy, showed that his ancestors in the male line have belonged to haplogroup N3 for more than one thousand years. The results of the researches show that for centuries which passed from the time of the invitation of Varangians Slavic, Finno-Ugric, Baltic tribes and the descendants of Northmen (including the ruling elite) who lived and live in the lands of Russia became one people who speak one of the Eastern Slavic languages. In the same way as the descendants of different tribes who lived on the territories of the Land became the people of Ukraine. Each of these modern peoples has their own history, a long, rather complex and tangled history so that we can study it only on the basis of separate chronicles, archeological sources or linguistics. This riddle appeared to be above the strength of experts in chronicles and experts in archeological cultures. By the way, the mentioned above genetic researches “exonerate” chroniclers who in the distant 12th century risked writing down the history of Rus the beginning of which looked like a legend from Scandinavian sagas already at that time: “…The oldest, Rurik, located himself in Novgorod; the second, Sineus, at Biloozero; and the third, Truvor, in Izborsk. On account of these Varangians, the district of Novgorod became known as the land of

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This is how knyaz Rurik was depicted on the monument to the one-thousand-year anniversary of Russia in Novgorod

Rus. The present inhabitants of Novgorod are descended from the Varangian race, but aforetime they were Slavs. …In these cities there are thus Varangian colonists, but the first settlers were, in Novgorod, Slavs; in Polotsk, Krivichians; at Biloozero, Ves, in Rostov, Merians; and in Murom, Muromians. Rurik had dominion over all these districts”.

So, the Ioachim Chronicle of earl Tatishchev, as it turned out, was not far from the truth either. Modern Russians have enough N3 as well, but there is also a Slavic component R1a; you can find more details in the section “The ancestral home of Slavs”. Further researches showed that the Slavic (that very haplogroup R1a) branch of the genealogy of the Rurik Dynasty starts from the ancestors of the Chernihiv knyaz Oleg Svyatoslavich. And the descendents of Vladimir Monomakh, his rival in the competition for the heritage of the Rurik clan, are of the Scandinavian clan-tribe. The subject of the study of the genetic genealogy of Rurikids is covered in: Д. Кузнец, Н. Максимов, С. Кравченко. Операция «Чистые Рюрики» (D. Kuznets, N. Maksimov, S. Kravchenko. The operation “ Clean Ruriks”) //runewsweek.ru/rubrics/print.php?rubric=science&rid=2286 and others.

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In the place which is marked with an arrow over the Dnieper more than one thousand years ago a fortress on the route “from Varangians to Greeks” was built. Vytachiv

In a word, this is a usual for those times story of a clan which not only found a new homeland, but also headed the state. In the end, the science of the 21st century confirmed the old lines of the chronicle. In general, it was not difficult to foresee such a result if we take into account the social order of old chiefdoms which periodically change their format and ethnic coloring. Today Huns are in power and everybody from Antes and Goths to Alans take their name. And when the Bulgar horde of khan Asparuh comes to the Balkans, the Slavic clans (except for those which will choose another destiny) will participate in Combat axes and the creation of Bulgaria and axes-amulets, the later it will become quite a 10th–the 11th century Slavic country. And you can find quite a lot of such examples in those distant, dark centuries. And not only there.

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It seems that at the beginning there weren’t really very many Rus people in the Slavic lands. The name, the elements of the culture and finally the ruling elite – Rurikids who derived their genealogy from konungs from the North were preserved for the longest time. In the same way as the Kievichi, for example, could derive their genealogy from Sarmatian or even Scythian rulers. By the way, part of the modern descendants of the Slavic aristocracy managed to find the Sarmatian root on the genetic level. And the fact that in the end the image of a trident which is very similar to a Sarmatian tamga became the sign of the Rurik Dynasty (and modern Ukraine) is as if a symbol of the union of two ancient elites, at least on the level of traditions.

The way to the Middles Ages If on the pages of the first book we were speaking about almost six long millenniums of the history of the Land from the Trypillia culture which existed more than five thousand years ago to Antes from whom we are separated “only” by one dozen and a half centuries, the chronology of the second book is limited to incomplete five hundred years. However, these “dark centuries” were saturated with important events that’s why it is quite difficult to study their cobwebs. It may seem that within these five hundred years there were much more events than within the previous sixty centuries. It is clear that it is not so. Probably the

thing is that much more records about this period of time were preserved. And there are much of them than this book could contain. Since behind every section there is sometimes a whole library (sometimes a rather big library), consisting of the publications of sources, monographs, articles, theses of the speeches at conferences and short records about archeological discoveries and finally information from the Internet. To say nothing about numerous archeological finds and reports of archeologists. Actually these finds are sometimes equally conspicuous than the records of chronicles and annals. Looking at

Silver straps for belts from the Martynivka treasure and the reconstruction of the clothes of “the Antean knyaz”. The National Museum of the History of Ukraine

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Warriors of the time of the great migration of peoples. The military museum in the city of Belgrade, Serbia

museum showcases with silver adornments of ancient military belts, rusty swords and sabers, you can try to imagine what powerful warriors of Huns and Bulgars, Avars, Alans and Khazars, Antes and Sclaveni looked like. In Kyiv, in the Museum of Historical Jewelry you can look at rich gold adornments of the hilt and the sheath of a saber which was once given by the Byzantine emperor as a sign of establishing allied relations to the steppe ruler. And next to it, behind the glass there are “dancing men” which are made of silver and fabulous horses which were once gilt by unknown craftsmen – they could adorn the military equipage of a Slavic (or some other) knyaz. In the National Museum of the History of Ukraine you can see instruments of craftsmen and casting forms for making silver adornments and silver adornments themselves. They belonged to Antes whose city was wiped off the face of the earth by a detachment of

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nomads. And the knyaz with his faithful wife couldn’t protect fellow tribesmen. The Glodosy treasure, the Martynivka treasure and many, many others – each of them has their own history that is connected with the events the details of which historians and archeologists try to restore. The interesting thing is that the region in which the great settlement of Slavs took place almost completely covers the territory of Old Europe of the time of the Trypillia culture. Slavs not only inhabited the lands between the Carpathians and the Dnieper, reached Central Europe, but also settled down in the Balkans, even in the lands of Hellas. Moreover, thanks to the improvements of agrarian technologies the lands to the shores of the Baltic Sea and also in the East became accessible to them as the ancient grain growing civilization of Old Europe never got to them in their time.

The way to the Middles Ages The study of a burial place of a nomad with a horse. Excavations of the 1930s of the 20th century on the construction site of Dniprelstan. The picture from the Scientific archives of the Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine

There was a unique situation, to be more exact a unique situation repeated itself once again when the bearers of a similar culture and language settled down on a vast territory, as it happened before in the 6th–the 5th millennium BC. However, it all happened in a situation when Europe was inhabited much more densely than in the Neolithic Age. A lot of peoples had created their states long before including the ones which aspired to the role of “the world leader”. And Slavs had to look for their place in the sun in this complicated (and cruel) world. And there is one more difference. We can say that the new factor for almost one thousand years became extremely weighty in Europe: the Great Steppe. Actually the views about the existence of the initial epoch of the confrontation of the two worlds, peaceful grain growers and bellicose nomads, were evoked by these events to a considerable extent. The confrontation which allegedly was supposed to put an end to the flourishing of Old Europe. And if such a picture doesn’t look quite grounded with regard to the events of the 5th–the 3rd millennium BC, then there is no doubt now with respect to its awful reality in “the dark centuries”. Of course, if we don’t take into account the considerations about the benefits and harmony of the so-called “Eurasian civilization”.

Huns and Avars, Bulgars, Khazars, Alans – this is the list which is far from being complete of neighborsnomads who for centuries built their relations with the world of grain growers, relying on force. And if such a

The remains of the armor of a warrior-nomad. Excavations of the 1930s of the 20th century on the construction site of Dniprelstan. The picture from the Scientific archives of the Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine

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Slavic antiquities. The exposition of the Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine

powerful state as the Roman Empire and then the Byzantine Empire could afford the luxury of buying peace or even military assistance of “barbarians” represented by their elite, which was rather cheap, then less powerful neighbors were in a desperate situation. All the more that at first the newly minted allies worked more or less honestly both for gifts and tribute, effectively “forcing to peace” their enemies and when necessary forcing the mutinous subjects to complete obedience. Infantrymen from tribal voluntary military forces had not the ghost of a chance of defeating the cavalry which covered the enemy with a shower of arrows from far-ranging bows. Relatively not numerous armies from among the local elite died in the first clashes together with unreasonable leaders. More circumspect ones joined more powerful neighbors, sharing with them the glory of victories (and the plunder) from Roman provinces and waited for their time which would definitely come. Some time later huge “steppe empires” inevitably fell apart and disappeared from the political map (in order to appear again). The events of that epoch showed how short-lived the strongest agreements and alliances are. And also the fact that the duration of the existence of a state can correspond

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to the duration of the life of the man who founded it and at best there will be a few more generations of his successors. And changes and reforms cab be extended for endlessly long centuries, for the time which a man can’t outlive. However, a man always strives to find a place in the sun, to make his life maybe not very luxurious, but relatively comfortable. Nonetheless, the views about comfort can be different. The residents of Byzantine Kherson lived in dwellings built of stone and covered with ceramic tiles, walked along streets which were paved with stone. But the conditions of life in a medieval city left much to be desired. Nor far from them, in the mountainous Taurica the neighbors of city dwellers, Goths, built their unsightly dwellings among rocks. The appearance of their remains produced an unforgettable impression on pioneer archaeologists: they thought that these constructions resembled dens of wild animals. But at least mountain dwellers drank clean water and breathed in fresh air. Far in the North Slavs didn’t build anything of stone at all. Dwellings made of blocks were more ecological than stone mansions in the mountains or in cities of Taurica. But they were heated “in a black way”, just like in the Neolithic Age. So, the conditions of life here would

The way to the Middles Ages seem to be not very comfortable to the modern man too. However, both people in Taurica and on the Dnieper depended, first of all, on the results of their work with the help of which they earned their bread, cooked cereal, meat, fish and if they were lucky, even wine and honey. Once again some types of production covered the way of the ascent to the top of technologies and falling and a new ascent. This is what happened to the production of ceramic vessels. Pottery trade with the use of a potter’s wheel was preserved only in the cities of Taurica. In other cities molded vessels replace beautiful products of the Chernyakhiv culture. However, two or three centuries passed and wonderful ceramic vessels gradually (and already forever) supplanted the primitive molded vessels on the territories of the Land. Just like before, huge resources and efforts are spent on the defense industry. They couldn’t do otherwise. In some places they had to defend tribal borders and in some places even state ones. Stone walls, impregnable fortresses on rocks, earth fortifications with wooden walls and towers on high river banks or in the middle of impassable swamps; you can see picturesque ruins of ancient fortifications everywhere on the territories of the Land as well as the remains of weapons in burial places and in settlement. In burial places you can see rusty chain armor and plates from equipage, spears, sabers, swords and battle axes, the remains of bows and arrows and in the settlements you can see mostly points of arrows and harnesses which were lost during raids or clashes. Old trade routes are restored and new ones are made; just like before, they will be used for taking wine, fabric, vessels and jewelry from the South to the North. And just

The exposition of the Kyiv Regional Archeological museum

The remains of a Slavic village of the 8th–the 9th century were found under this forest and in the field in the outskirts of the village of Grebeni (the Kyiv region)

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The life in a Slavic village. The diorama from the museum of the nature reserve in the city of Zbarazh

like in ancient times, slave trade flourishes. Sure thing, since no decade passes without a small or big war. For five dark centuries not only tribal unions of Slavs, but also states which were created on their basis appeared and fell apart. In this respect their history doesn’t differ greatly from the life of neighbors in the West, in the North and sometimes in the East. We can trace a close connection between the peculiarities of the political system of chiefdoms and the ways of the creation of new unions and states. The presence of a hierarchy on the levels of which there are small and big

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chiefs-knyazes brings order to the relations between clans and tribes. The status of a man is determined on the basis of a noble origin of a clan, but a professional warrior-hero can also get to the top. However, this system is vulnerable from outside: due to obligations to the society the elite just must protect and sometimes even with weapons in their hands the dependent clans and tribes. And here the life of the elite depends on the ability to find peaceful decisions in conflicts as the military fortune is so changeable. On the other hand, the victory which will result in the annihilation of the ruling top of a similar chiefdom

The way to the Middles Ages

will open the way to the establishment of power over them. By the way, the execution of the Antean ruler Boz, his sons and the elders gave the king of Goths Vinitari “the green light” to the establishment of the supreme power over the hostile tribal union or its integration into his own political system. As a result of the successfully performed military operation, Antes as a political union disappeared from the pages of historical chronicles for one hundred odd years. Campaigns and the great settlement of Slavs, the incursion of nomads from the territory of the Land changed the political map of Europe of the first millenni-

um of the Common Era to a considerable extent. It is then that a lot of states which still exist, for instance, Czechia and Poland, Croatia and Bulgaria appeared. But the name of many states can be found only in historical works – Great Bulgaria, the Avar and Khazar khaSilver fibulas of the time of early Slavs. The National Museum of the History of Ukraine

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A burial mound near the road to the village of Kopachiv, the Kyiv region

ganates, Great Moravia. However, all of them, this way or another, are connected with the history of the Land; so, its history is not only the history of Slavs, but also the history of Alans, Bulgars, Goths, Greeks, Khazars and also the descendents of these peoples. And this history doesn’t end on modern borders, but with the help of thousands of threads it is interwoven with the past (and the modern times) of the countries which are situated in Europe, Asia and even in Africa. The traces of Slavic tribes whose ancestral home was once the valleys of the Dnieper and the Dniester, the forests of Volhynia and Podesennya can be found now quite far from these places. In the museums of Krakow and Prague, Bratislava and Vienna, Belgrade, Ljubljana, Sofia and many other cities of Europe you will see the same pots and fibulas as in the exposition of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. In distant Istanbul you will see (the once) impregnable city walls and towers

which Slavic and Avar warriors tried to assault in 626 AD. By the way, visiting that very Belgrade, you should remember that this ancient city which was once a Celtic stronghold and then the Roman city Singidunum also owes its present name to the expatriates from the banks of the distant Dnieper or the Dniester. There is “White city”, Belgrade on the Danube, and there is Bilgorod near Kyiv, present Bilogorodka. Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria – some of the Slavs made their “European choice” as far back as more than one thousand years ago: some of them stayed in the native lands of their ancestors, others went beyond the Carpathians and the Danube to seek their fortune, a new destiny in the West. And now we can only guess how long (and how thoroughly) the modern borders will separate them. A lot of finds and discoveries were left beyond the boundaries of this book. And this is not surprising as quite a lot of things have been excavated since archeologists started studying “the dark centuries”. For this time quite a lot of interesting things appeared in archives and storerooms of museums that’s why you can look for (and find) interesting things not only in the ground. Having read this book, dear readers, visiting the rooms of big and small museums in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, KamianetsPodilskyi, Kyiv, Kremenets, Lviv, Chernihiv, Simferopol, Uman, Kharkiv, Cherkasy and also in many other cities of Ukraine and also far beyond its boundaries will certainly meet something familiar from among the antiquities which are connected with those very “dark centuries”. Among them there will be masterpieces from ancient treasures and burial places, rusty stirrups and points of arrows, unsightly pots which were restored from shards. All of them are real evidence of that very time which was dealt with on the pages of this book.

An ancient burial mound in the field near the village of Grebeni, the Kyiv region

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The way to the Middles Ages

The ramparts of an ancient settlement in Dnieper area which are overgrown with a forest

Travelling around Ukraine, past burial mounds on the sides of the routes which lie along watersheds, you go along the same roads along which clans of nomads from Sarmatians to Bulgars once roamed. And under these burial mounds warriors who once went on distant campaigns to the Baltic and Caucasian mountains in the name of the fulfillment of agreements with empires which don’t exist now lie. They, these warriors, protect the eternal rest and fabulous treasures of ancient, once very and very powerful chiefs and khagans who in the middle of these steppes, under this sky received embassies and rich gifts from even more powerful, but still dependent on their friendship and support emperors of the West and the East. On high capes which are overgrown with forests or shrubs, along banks of big and small rivers you can still see earth ramparts which slid down, the traces of the oncepowerful fortresses which were built by Slavic tribes for the protection from too bellicose neighbors. There are also traces of ancient settlement which are covered with ground forever there; in dozens of small dwellings, near awkward stoves which were made of stone bylinas about the glorious warrior Volkh and his feats were told during long winter evenings. In the sunny Crimea a heap of stones in the middle of a field which is sowed with wheat can appear to be the remains of an ancient farmstead which was built in the times when somewhere here, nearby, there was a border of the Byzantine Empire which was powerful in those times. And in the outskirts of modern Sevastopol there are still ruins of the main outpost of the Empire in Taurica – ancient Kherson. The remains of an ancient city near the village of Upper Saltov near Kharkiv were less lucky. However, this city is also another remembrance of an ancient empire, the Khazar khaganate.

“Protected by the state”, the sign on an ancient necropolis, the Kyiv region

Sometimes in ancient burial mounds and settlements, in villages which were abandoned a long time ago you can still find metal plates with inscriptions: “Archaeological site. Protected by the state”. Many of these plates already became historical monuments them-

Armor and weapons which were made by a modern craftsman in accordance with the motifs of the time of the early Middle Ages. The work by Ye. Gordienko

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Re-enactors of the Slavic time, the festival in the Kyiv fortress

Reconstruction of the Slavic clothes, the festival in the Kyiv fortress

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selves, the monuments of the state USSR which doesn’t exist any more. This is how the past becomes history already beneath our eyes. However, all these ancient settlements and burial mounds, if we treat them in a careful way, will probably outlive more than one millennium, reminding of the past years and events. Quite a lot of people today not only read books or watch films about those ancient times. There are more and more people who want to reproduce the epoch which passed – costumes, adornments, weapons, utensils, even dwellings and fortresses. As a result of this, scientific monographs and the publications of the results of excavations become their bedside books. Quite a lot of workshops in which you can order a sword or a helmet, ancient armor or chain mail appear. There are enough craftsmen who are capable of making a bow and arrows, clothes, shoes, vessels and adornments – all of them completely correspond to the finds which were discovered during excavations. The correspondence of such products to ancient prototypes becomes the subjects of heated discussions. Reproducing the details of the way of life and customs of the past, these lovers of the antique try to live the lives of ancient Slavs or their neighbors at least for a few days or hours. Thanks to them the picturesque ruins of fortresses and ramparts of ancient settlements which are covered with green grass return to life for some time. This way the ancient history becomes closer and clearer. On the pages of this book we came up closely to the moment Rus and the Rus appear on the historical arena. The process of the establishment of a new state starts on the banks of the Dnieper. However, this is already the subject for new stories in which I would like to cover the way from Rus to the Russian kingdom and Terrae Russiae1 and then Roxolania2.

Terrae Russiae is the name of part of the territories of the Land in the title of the successors of king Daniel of Galicia at the beginning of the 14th century Roxolania is the name of the lands of Kievan Rus and Galicia Rus in the poem of Sebastian Klonowic which has the same name (1548)

Abbreviations BAH — The bulletin of the ancient history МИА (MRA) — Materials and researches on archeology of the USSR РА (RA) — Russian archeology СА (SA) — Soviet archeology

BPS — Baltic-Pontic Studies SP — Stratum Plus K — Kyiv M — Moscow

References he bibliography of only scientific works which are connected with archeology and ancient history of the Land, published from the 19th to the beginning of the 21st century, numbers dozens of thousands of names. A few volumes of reference books which can be found in many libraries of Ukraine are dedicated to its description and systematization. Quite a lot of interesting books, collections of articles and materials of international conferences, especially over recent years, have also been published abroad. The references which are arranged in accordance with sections include first of all works which were used when writing this book, the information and the results of scientific researches. The latest publications, especially monographs, have the most complete references on different questions.

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FIVE “DARK AGES” FROM THE HISTORY OF THE LAND 1. Археологія Української РСР. — К., 1974. — Т. III. 2. Археология Украинской ССР. — К., 1985—1986 . — Т. 3. 3. Давня історія України. Слов’яно"руська доба. — К., 2000. — Т. 3. 4. Етнічна історія давньої України. — К., 2000. 5. Літопис Руський (за Іпатіївським списком). — К., 1989. 6. Свод древейших письменных известий о славянах. — М., 1991. — Т. 1; М., 1995. — Т. 2. 7. Славяне Юго"Восточной Европы в предгосударственный период. — К., 1990. 8. Этнокультурная карта территории Украинской ССР в І тыс. до н.э. — К., 1985.

Section 1. ABOUT ANCIENT SLAVS 1. В. Д. Баран. Давні слов’яни. — К., 1998. 2. В. Д. Баран, Я. В. Баран. Історичні витоки українського народу. — К., 2005. 3. В. Д. Баран, Д. Н. Козак, Р. В. Терпиловський. Походження слов’ян. — К., 1991. 4. Давня історія України. Слов’яно"руська доба. — К., 2000. — Т. 3. — С. 25—60. 5. Д. Козак. Венеди. — К., 2008. 6. В. Хорев. Реконструкция старинного оружия. — Ростовна-Дону, 2006. 7. Р. В. Терпиловский. Славяне Поднепровья в первой половине І тысячелетия н.э. — Lublin, 2004. 8. Этнокультурная карта территории Украинской ССР в І тыс. до н.э. — К., 1985.

Section 2. THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF ANTES 1. В. Д. Баран, Я. В. Баран. Історичні витоки українського народу. — К., 2005. — С. 23—49. 2. М. Ю. Брайчевський. Походження Руксі. — К., 1968. 3. М. Ю. Брайчевський. Біля джерел слов’янської державності. — К., 1964

4. Давня історія України. Слов’яно"руська доба. — К., 2000. — Т. 3. — С. 61—63. 5. Прокопий Кессарийский. История войн//Свод древнейших письменных известий о славянах. — Москва, 1994. — Т. I (I—IV вв.). — С. 170—250. 6. Б. А. Рыбаков. Древние русы// Советская археология, 1953. — Т. XVII. — С. 76—89.

Section 3. THE UNIVERSE DREW BACK IN FRONT OF THEM 1. И. П. Засецкая. Культура кочевников южнорусских степей в гуннскую эпоху. — С."Петербург, 1994. 2. Йордан. О происхождении и деяниях гетов. — М., 1960. 3. Золото степу. Археологія України. — Київ—Шлезвіг, 1991. — С. 334, 410. 4. О. Приходнюк. Гуни та протоболгари в Європі. — К., 1999. 5. Є. Ф. Редіна, О. А. Росохацький. До вивчення гунських старожитностей Північно"Західного Причорномор’я // Археологія, 1994. — №3. — С. 152—155. 6. Э. А. Томпсон. Гунны. Грозные воины степей. — М., 2008. 7. Т. Сулимирский. Сарматы. — М., 2007. 8. O. J. Maenchen. The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture. — Berkeley"Los"Angeles, 1973. 9. R. Rolle, M. V. Gorelik Panzerreiter in der nirdpontischkaspischen Steppen// Золото степу. Археологія України. — Київ—Шлезвіг,1991.

Section 4. THE NEXT BATTLE FOR EUROPE 1. Д. Пейнроз . Рим и его враги. — М., 2008. — С. 280—293. 2. Йордан. О происхождении и деяниях гетов. — М., 1960. 3. Д. Кевриз, Й. Дикки, Ф. Джестайс, Р. Райс. Великие сражения древнего мира. — М., 2008. — С. 214—223. 4. О. Приходнюк. Гунни та протоболгари в Європі. — К., 1999. 5. Прокопий Кессарийский. История войн // Свод древнейших письменных известий о славянах. — Москва, 1994. — Т. I (I—IV вв.). — С. 170—250.

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6. Т. Сулимирский. Сарматы. — М., 2007. — С. 147—179. 7. Э. А. Томпсон. Гунны. Грозные воины степей. — М., 2008. — С. 151—254. 8. I Coti. — Milano,1994.

Section 5. THE SEARCH OF ANCESTRAL HOME OF SLAVS 1. В. Д. Баран, Я. В. Баран. Історичні витоки українського народу. — К., 2005. 2. М. Ю. Брайчевський. Походження Руксі. — К., 1968. 3. А. Валентинов. Ген всему голова. Восточные славяне начинались в Беларуси. — «Союз. Беларусь—Россия» № 242 от 8 декабря 2005 г. http://www.rg.ru/gazeta/soyuz/2005/12/08.html 4. О. Евграфов. «Прародитель» полутора миллионов русских жил 2,5 тысячи лет назад. Кто он был? //«ЗНАНИЕ— СИЛА» 1999 — № 11—12. 5. Любор Нидерле. Бытъ и культура древнихъ славянъ. — Ужгород, 2007. 6. Этнокультурная карта территории Украинской ССР в І тыс. н.э. — К., 1985. 7. В. П. Петров. Етногенез слов’ян. — К., 1972. 8. В. В. Седов. Славяне в раннем средневековье. — М., 1995. 9. Cie½ Ðwiatowita. — Lublin, 2002. 10. W. Hensel. Skad przysli slowianie. — Wroclaw, 1994.

Section 6. IN THE SEARCH OF ANTES 1. В. Д. Баран, Я. В. БаранІсторичні витоки українського народу. — К., 2005. — С. 65—73. 2. В. І. Бідзіля. Залізоплавильні горни середини І тис. н.е. на Південному Бузі// Археологія, 1963. — Т. XV. 3. М. Ю. Брайчевський. Походження Русі. — К., 1968. 4. О. М. Приходнюк. Пеньковская культура. — Воронеж, 1998. 5. В. П. Петров. Етногенез слов’ян. — К., 1972. 6. М. Б. Щукин. Рождение славян //http: // www.. nestor. md /Russian/Sciukin.htm, 2001

Section 7. THE TREASURES OF ANTES 1. Д. Т. Березовець. Харівський скарб// Археологія, 1965. — Т. VI. 2. Золото степу. Археологія України. — Київ—Шлезвіг,1991. — С. 346—352; 422—423. 3. В. А. Падин. Среднее Подесенье (Трубчевская округа) в VI—V вв. до н.э. — X—XII вв. н. э. по материалам археологических исследований http: // archaeology.ru /ONLINE/Padin/padin_oglavlenie. html 4. О. М. Приходнюк. Степове населення України та східні слов’яни(друга половина І тис. н.е.) — Київ—Чернівці, 2001. 5. Б. А. Рыбаков. Древние русы// Советская археология, 1953. — Т. XVII. — С. 76—89.

Section 8. KNYAZ KYI AND HIS CITY 1. Я. Є. Боровський. Походження Києва. Історіографічний нарис. — К., 1981. 2. М. Ю. Брайчевський. Коли і як виник Київ. — К., 1963. 3. І. О. Іванцов. Стародавній Київ. — К., 2003. 4. Б. В. Магомедов. Ольвія і варвари в пізньоантичний період. — Археологія, 2007. — № 4. — С. 47—53. 5. П. П. Толочко. Древний Киев. — К., 1976. 6. П. П. Толочко. Київ і Русь. — К., 2008.

Section 9. IN SEARCH OF THE CITY OF KYI

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1. М. К. Каргер. Древний Киев. — М."Л., 1958. — Т. 1.

2. С. Р. Килиевич. Детинец Киева первой половины IX— XIII в. — К., 1982. 3. С. И. Климовский. Замковая гора в Киеве: пять тысяч лет истории. — К., 2005. 4. В. В. Хвойко. Давні мешканці Середнього Придніпров’я та їх культура у доісторичні часи (по розкопкам)//Дослідження трипільської цивілізації у науковій спадщині археолога Вікентія Хвойки. — К., 2006. — Т. І.

Section 10. THE CITY OF CRAFTSMEN ON THE BORDER WITH THE STEPPE 1. М. Ю. Брайчевський. Пастирський скарб 1949 р. // Археологія, 1952. — Т. VI. 2. М. Ю. Брайчевський. Походження Русі. — К., 1968. 3. О. М. Приходнюк. Пастирське городище. — Київ—Чернівці, 2005. 4. А. А. Тортика. Северо"Западная Хазария в контексте истории Восточной Европы. — Харьков, 2006. — С.262—293.

Section 11. THE OUTPOST OF THE EMPIRE 1. С.Б.Дашков. Императоры Византии. М., 1996. 2. А. И. Романчук. Исследования Херсонеса"Херсона. Раскопки. Гипотезы. Проблемы. — Екатеринбург, 2007. — Часть 2. Византийский город. 3. С. Б. Сорочан, В. М. Зубарь, Л. В. Марченко. Жизнь и гибель Херсонеса. — Харьков, 2000. 4. Феодальная Таврика. — К. , 1974. 5. С. Б. Сорочан. Византийский Херсон. Очерки истории и культуры. — Харьков, 2005. — Ч. 1—2. 6. А. Л. Якобсон. Раннесредневековый Херсонес // МИА. — № 63. — 1959. — С. 177—182.

Section 12. THE LIGHT OF FAITH 1. Д. В. Айналов. Развалины храмов // Памятники христианского Херсонеса.— Вып. I. — М., 1905, — С. 1—15. 2. І. Жиленко. Християнство до заснування Київської Русі // Діти Сонця. Цивілізації давньої України. — К., 2000. 3. В. М. Зубарь, А. И. Хворостяный. От язычества к христианству. — К., 2000. 4. Ю. Г. Лосицький. Про візантійські базиліки Херсонеса // Археологія. — 1991. — № 2. — С. 83—97. 5. М. И. Ростовцев. Античная декоративная живопись на юге России. — Петроград, 1914.

Section 13. TAURICA: LIFE ON THE FRONTIER 1. А. И. Айбабин. Этническая принадлежность могильников Крыма IV — первой половины VII в. н. э. // Материалы к этнической истории Крыма. — К. , 1987. 2. А. И. Айбабин. Этническая история ранневизантийского Крыма. — Симферополь, 1999. 3. И. А. Баранов. Таврика в эпоху раннего средневековья. — К., 1990 4. Е. А. Паршина. Средневековая керамика Южной Таврики// Феодальная Таврика. — К., 19745. 5. А. Л. Якобсон. Новый памятник раннесредневековой архитектуры в Крыму // Краткие сообщения Института археологии АН СССР. — № 99. — 1964. — С. 65—72.

Section 14. THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY DORI 1. А. И. Айбабин. Этническая принадлежность могильников Крыма IV — первой половины VII в. н. э. // Материалы к этнической истории Крыма. — К. , 1987.

2. Е. В. Веймарн, А. И. Айбабин. Скалистенский могильник. — К., 1993. 3. История и археология Средневекового Крыма. — М., 1958 4. И. С. Пиоро. Крымская Готия. — К. 1990. 5. Э. И. Соломоник, О. И. Домбровский. О локализации страны Дори//Археологические исследования средневекового Крыма. — К., 1968.

Section 15. BULGARIA IN THE PONTIC STEPPES 1. А. А. Бобринский. Перещепинский клад//Материлы по археологии России. — № 34. 2. Давня історія України. Слов’яно"руська доба. — К., 2000. — Т. 3. — С. 208—211. 3. Залесская, И. П. Засецкая, К. В. Каспарова, 3. А. Львова, Б. И. Маршак, И. В. Соколова, М. Б. Щукин. Съкровище на хан Кубрат. Култура на българи, хазари, славяни. София; 1989. 4. И. Вернер. Погребалната находка от Малая Перешчепина и Кубрат"хан на българите. София, 1988. 5. В. Комар. Ранние хазары в Северном Причерономорье// http://archaeology.kiev.ua/journal/030500/komar.htm 6. С. А. Плетнева. Симпозиум «Сокровище хана Кубрата. Культура болгар, хазар, славян» (София, сентябрь 1989 г.) //http://annals.xlegio.ru/step/bolgary/kubrat.htm 7. О. М. Приходнюк. Степове населення України та східні слов’яни (друга половина І тис. до н.е.). — Київ — Чернівці, 2001 8. О. Приходнюк. Гунни та протоболгари в Європі. — К., 1999. 9. Р. Рашев. Прабългарите през V—VII век. — Велико Търново, 2000 10. J. Werner. Der Grabfund von Malaja Perescepina und Kuvrat, Kagan der Bulgaren. — Munchen, 1984.

Section 16. SCLAVENIAN ANTIQUITIES 1. В. В. Ауліх .Зимнівське городище — слов’янська пам’ятка VI—VII ст. н.е. в Західній Волині. — К., 1972. 2. В. Д. Баран. Пражская культура Поднестровья (по материалам поселений у с. Рашков). — К., 1988. 3. В. Д. Баран. Давні слов’яни. — К., 1998. 4. Любор Нидерле. Бытъ и культура древнихъ славянъ.— Ужгород, 2007. 5. И. П. Русанова Славянские древности VI—VII вв. — М., 1976 6. В. В. Седов. Восточные славяне VI—XIII вв. — М., 1982 7. В.В. Седов. Славяне в раннем средневековье. — М., 1995. 8. А. Buko Archeologia Polski wczesnoÑredniowiecznej. — Warszawa, 2005. 9. В. Chropovsky Die Slaven. Historische, politische bnd kulturelle Entwicklung und Bedeutung. — Praga,1988. 10. Wielka Historia Polski. Tom 1. Najdawnejzse dzeje ziem Polskich (do VII w.) — Krakow, 1998.

Section 17. OBRES AND SLAVS 1. Я. Е. Боровский. Византийские, старославянские и старогрузинские источники о походе русов в VII в. на Царьград. //Древности славян и Руси. — М., 1988. — с. 114— 119. 2. Давня історія України. Слов’яно"руська доба. — К., 2000. — Т. 3. — С. 204—208. 4. С. Б. Дашков. Императоры Византии. М., 1996. 5. Золото степу. Археологія України. — Київ—Шлезвіг, 1991. — С. 335. 6. А. Менжулін. Реставрація творів з металу. — К., 1998. — С. 173—177, іл. 99—102.

7. Magna Moravia. — Buno, 1965. 8. Persiens Antike Pracht. Bergbau — Handwerk — Archeologie. — Bochum,2004. — Band I 9. R. Rolle, M.V. Gorelik. Panzerreiter in der nirdpontischkaspischen Steppen// Золото степу. Археологія України. — Київ—Шлезвіг, 1991.

Section 18. FROM UKRANENLAND TO HISN AS SAKALIBA 1. С. В. Алексеев .Славянская Европа V—VI вв. — М., 2008. 2. С. В. Алексеев. Славянская Европа VII—VIII вв. — М., 2007. 3. Давня історія України. Слов’яно"руська доба. — К., 2000. — Т. 3. — С. 258—262. 4. Феофан. Хронография /перевод В. И. Оболенского и Ф.А. Тарновского, изд. 1884 г. //http://www.krotov.info/acts/08/3/feofan_00.htm 5. Маврикий. Тактика и стратегия/перевод Цыбышева, 1903 г. — Книга 11, раздел 5 //http://www.xlegio.ru/sources/maurikios/maurikios11.htm 6. J. Herrmann. Die Slawen in Deutschland. — Berlin, 1985. 7. В. Chropovsky Die Slaven. Historische, politische bnd kulturelle Entwicklung und Bedeutung. — Praga,1988.

Section 19. IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF KHAZARIA 1. В. С. Аксенов, В. К. Михеев. Население хазарского каганата в памятниках истории и культуры. «Сухогомольшанский могильник VII—Хвв.//Хазарский альманах. — Харьков, 2006. — Т. 5. 2. М. И. Артамонов. История хазар. Ленинград, 1962. 3. Давня історія України. Слов’яно"руська доба. — К., 2000. — Т. 3. — С.211—213. 4. О. В. Комар. Ранні хозари у Північному Причорномор’ї// Археологія, 2000. — №1. — С. 130—142. 5. А. В. Крыганов. Військова справа ранньосередньовічних аланів Подоння//Археологія, 1993. — №2. — С. 52—62. 6. Степи Евразии в эпоху средневековья. — М., 1981.

Section 20. ABOUT THE SETTLEMENTS OF KHAZARIA 1. Д. Т. Березовец. Раскопки в Верхнем Салтове в 1959— 1956 гг.// Краткие сообщения Института археологии АН УССР. — К., 1962. — Выпуск 12. — С.18—22. 2. А. В. Крыганов. Крупный пункт (город) Хазарии// Восточноевропейский археологический журнал, 2001. — № 1(8): http://www. archaeology.kiev.ua/journal 3. В. К. Михеев. Подонье в составе Хазарского каганата. — Харьков 1968. 4. А. П. Новосельцев. Хазарское государство и его роль в истории Восточной Европы и Кавказа. — М., 1990. 5. Этнокультурная карта территории Украинской ССР в І тыс. до н.э. — К., 1985.

Section 21. STEPPE “TREASURES” 1. В. А. Грінченко. Пам’ятка VIII ст. в с. Вознесенка//Археологія, 1950. — Т. ІІІ 2. Золото степу. Археологія України. — Київ—Шлезвіг,1991. — С. 188—189; 411—414. 3. В. Комар. Ранние хазары в Северном Причерономорье// http://archaeology.kiev.ua/journal/030500/komar.htm 4. О. В. Комар. Ранні хозари у Північному Причорномор’ї// Археологія, 2000. — №1. — С. 130—142. 5. А. Т. Сміленко. Глодоські скарби. — К., 1965. 6. R. Rolle, M. V. Gorelik. Panzerreiter in der nirdpontischkaspischen Steppen// Золото степу. Археологія України. — Київ—Шлезвіг,1991.

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Section 22. THE KHAGANATE GROWS IN STRENGTH 1. А. М. Буровский. Несбывшаяся Россия. — М., 2007. 2. А. А. Комар. Исторические предпосылки возникновения легенды о полянской дани хазарам по археологическим данным//Хазары, евреи и славяне. — М.—Иерусалим, 2005. —Т. 16. — С. 207—219. 3. В. Москович, В. Петрухин, А. Федорчук. Хазары// Серия Bibliotheca Judaica. — М.—Иерусалим, 2005. 4. А. П. Новосельцев. Хазарское государство и его роль в истории Восточной Европы и Кавказа. — М.,1990. 5. С. А. Плетнева. От кочевий к городам. М: Наука, 1967. 6. І. М. Самойловський . Слов’янський могильник у Києві над Дніпром// Археологія, 1950. — Т. ІІІ. — С. 179—184. 7. П. П. Толочко. Миф о хазаро"иудейском основании Киева// Київ і Русь. — К., 2008. — С. 47—56. 8. А. А. Тортика. Северо"Западная Хазария в контексте истории Восточной Европы. — Харьков, 2006.

Section 23. THE TIMES OF INSPIRING KNYAZES 1. Д. Т. Березовець. Дослідження слов’янських пам’яток на Сеймі в 1949—1950 р. //Археологічні пам’ятки УРСР. — Т. V. — К., 1955 2. А. Н. Кирпичников. Древнерусское оружие// Свод археологических источников. — М., 1966. — Вып. Е"36. — Ч.1. 3. О. В. Сухобоков. Славяне Днепровского Левобережья. — К., 1975 4. О. В. Сухобоков. Дніпровське Лісостепове Лівобережжя у VIII—IX ст. — К., 1992. 5. Б. А. Тимощук . Восточные славяне. От общины к городам. — М., 1995. 6. C. П. Юренко. Днепровское Лесостепное Левобережье в VII—VIII вв. — К., 1993.

Section 24. THE COUNTRY OF POLANS, THE COUNTRY OF DREVLIANS 1. В. К. Гончаров. Лука"Райковецкая// Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР, 1963. — № 109. — С. 283—315. 2. Б. А. Звіздецький. Городища IX—XIII ст. на території літописних древлян. — К., 2008. 3. Л. Михайлина. Слов’яни VIII—X ст. між Дніпром і Карпатами. — К., 2007. 4. В. О. Петрашенко. Волинцевська культура на Правобережному Подніпров’ї// Археологія, 1989. — № 2. 5. В. А. Петрашенко. Древнеруское село. — К., 2005. 6. О. М. Приходнюк. Археологічні пам’ятки Середнього Придніпров’я VI—IX ст. н.е. — К., 1980

Section 25. BETWEEN THE CARPATHIANS AND THE DNIEPER 1. М. П. Кучера. Слов’яно"руські городища VIII—IX ст. між Саном і Сіверським Дінцем. — К., 1999 2. Л. Михайлина. Слов’яни VIII—X ст. між Дніпром і Карпатами. — К., 2007. 3. Б. О. Тимощук. Північна Буковина — земля слов’янська. — Ужгород, 1969 4. Б. О. Тимощук. Слов’яни Північної Буковини V—IX ст. — К., 1976

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5. Б. А. Шрамко. Раннеславянское поселение VIII—X в. на Донецком городище//Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР, 1976. — № 176. — С. 105—108

Section 26. WHEN EMPIRES DECAY 1. Х. Арбман. Викинги. — Санкт"Петербург, 2006. — С. 157— 174. 2. Бертинские Анналы. Annales Bertiniani // http: // www. vostlit.info/Texts/rus14/Annales_Bertiani/ text1.phtml?id=657 3. Давня історія України. Слов’яно"руська доба. — К., 2000. — Т. 3. — С. 247—258. 4. Г. Джонс. Викинги. Потомки Одина и Тора. — Москва, 2004. 5. Ладога и истоки российской государственности и культуры. — С.— Петербург, 2003 6. Г. С. Лебедев. Эпоха викингов в Северной Европе. — Ленинград, 1985. 7. А. Н. Кирпичников, В. Н. Сарабьянов. Старая Ладога — древняя столица Руси. —С.— Петербург, 1996. 8. О. Пріцак. Походження Русі. Стародавні скандинавські саги і Стара Скандинавія. — К., 2003. — Т.ІІ. 9. М. Гимбутас. Славяне. — М., 2005 (перевод с издания 1971 г.). 10. В. В. Фомин. Варяги и варяжская Русь: К итогам дискуссии по варяжскому вопросу. — Москва, 2005 11. В. Normann, C. Shulze, T. Verhulsdon. The vikings//Militaria Europa, 1997. — № 6.

Section 27. RUS AND THE PEOPLE OF RUS 1. Х. Арбман. Викинги. — Санкт"Петербург, 2006. — С. 157—174. 2. Л. Войтович. Генеалогія династій Рюриковичів і Гедиміновичів. — К., 1992. 3. Давня історія України. Слов’яно"руська доба. — К., 2000. — Т. 3. — С. 247—257. 4. Г. Джонс. Викинги. Потомки Одина и Тора. — Москва, 2004. — С.242—269. 5. Лиутпранд Кремонский. Книга Воздаяния (Антаподосис)//перевод И. В. Дьяконова, 2005. — http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus/Liut_Kr 6. Славяне и скандинавы. — М., 1986. 7. В. Я. Петрухин. Начало этокультурной истории Руси IX— XI вв. — Смоленск—Москва, 1995. 8. В. В. Фомин. Варяги и варяжская Русь: К итогам дискуссии по варяжскому вопросу. — Москва, 2005.

THE WAY TO THE MIDDLES AGES 1. В. Д. Баран, Я. В. Баран. Історичні витоки українського народу. — К., 2005. 2. Давня історія України. Слов’яно"руська доба. — К., 2000. — Т. 3. — С. 13—213. 3. Етнічна історія давньої України. — К., 2000. — С. 118—222. 4. Украина—Европа: хронология развития. — К., 2008. — Т. 2. — С начала нашей эры по 1000 г. 5. Этнокультурная карта территории Украинской ССР в І тыс. до н.э. — К., 1985.

The pictures which were used in the book were provided by: D. P. Nedopako (section 6), V. M. Zubar (sections 11, 12), and also by the Scientific Archives of the Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine.

In the pictures you can see materials and finds which were obtained as a result of researches of archeologists: V. V. Aulikh, V. P. Babenchikov, V. D. Baran, Ya. V. Baran, D. T. Berezovets, V. I. Bidzil, O. O. Bobrynskyi, M. Yu. Braychevskyi, A. Buko, Ye. V. Veymarn, V. K. Goncharov, V. A. Grinchenko, B. A. Zvisdetskyi, V. M. Zubar, D. N. Kozak, M. K. Karger, A. M. Kyrpychnykov, V. V. Kropotkina, T. M. Krupa, Yu. V. Kukharenko, M. P. Kucher, Ye. V. Maksimov, O. A. Parshina, V. O. Petrashenko, O. M. Prykhodnyuk, N. V. Pyatysheva, M. I. Rostovtseva, I. P. Rusanova, B. O. Rybakov, A. T. Smilenko, O. V. Sukhobokov, D. L. Talis, R. V. Terpylovskyi, B. O. Tymoshchuk, V. V. Khvoika, B. A. Shramko, A. L. Yakobson

and also the expositions of museums: Archeological Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine (Kyiv), I. Krypyakevych Archeological Institute of Social Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine (Lviv), The Zbarazh State Historical-Architectural Nature Reserve (Zbarazh), The Museum of the history of Transylvania (Kluz), The Kyiv Regional Archeological Museum (Trypillia), The National Museum of History of Ukraine (Kyiv), The Odessa Archeological Museum of the NAS of Ukraine (Odessa), The Kharkiv Historical Museum (Kharkiv), British Museum (London)

Pictures from Internet sites were also used in this book: The lamp with a relief image of a bird. Chersonesos. The 6th century. (p. 371) http://www.sciam.ru/2005/10/archeology.shtml The general view on the ruins of “The basilica of 1935”. Chersonesos (p. 378) http://serg-klymenko.narod.ru The gold vessel from the Pereshchepyna “treasure” (p. 405) Adornments and parts of belt sets from the Pereshchepyna “treasure” (p. 408) http://www.bnr.bg/RadioBulgaria/Emission_English/Theme_History_And_Religion/Material

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Керівники проекту: Толстоухов Анатолій Володимирович, Зубанов Володимир Олександрович Науково"популярне видання

Відейко Михайло Юрійович

УКРАЇНА: ВІД ТРИПІЛЛЯ ДО РУСІ (Англійською мовою)

Директор ТОВ «КВІЦ» В. В. Воробей Відповідальний за випуск Є. В. Письмак Науковий редактор Н. Б. Бурдо Переклад: Комп’ютерна верстка Я. П. Максимчук Дизайн обкладинки Я. П. Максимчук Відповідальний кур’єр О. А. Похилевич

Формат 60×84/8. Ум."друк. арк. 70,97. Тираж 1500 пр. Зам. № 463.

Видавництво ТОВ «Кріон» 04210, м. Київ, пр"т Героїв Сталінграду, 6, тел.: 581"04"68 (69) Свідоцтво суб'єкта видавничої справи ДК № 3324 від 27.11.2008. E"mail: [email protected] w w w. h i s t o r y " u a . o r g ТОВ «Комп’ютерно!видавничий, інформаційний центр» (КВІЦ) 04080, м. Київ, вул. Фрунзе, 19"21, тел.: 417"21"72, 417"53"70 Свідоцтво суб'єкта видавничої справи ДК № 461 від 23.05.2001.