As they say, "Prophetic Oleg is going to take revenge on the unreasonable Khazars." Were they really below the Slavs in terms of development? What do we know about this people?

Let's get answers to these questions together.

The Mystery of the Disappeared People

Thanks to mentions in written sources of the period of Kievan Rus, we know that Prince Svyatoslav destroyed the main cities of the Khazar Khaganate.

Sarkel, Semender and Itil were destroyed, and the position of the state was undermined. After the 12th century, nothing is said about them at all. The latest existing information indicates that they were captured and subjugated by the Mongols.

Until that time - from the 7th century - Khazaria is spoken of in Arabic, Persian, Christian sources. Its kings have great influence in the territories of the North Caucasus and the Caspian steppes near the mouth of the Volga. Many neighbors paid tribute to the Khazars.

Until now, this people is shrouded in mystery, and many information does not converge. Researchers struggle to navigate through the national specifics of eyewitness accounts.

The Arabs have one measure of distance and time, the Turks have completely different ones, add here the Byzantine, Jewish, Slavic and Khazar concepts proper. City names are often given in one paragraph in an Islamic manner, in another in Hebrew or Turkic. That is, it is quite possible that there were more or less cities, since it has not yet been possible to fully compare the ethnonyms. As well as discovering the remains of all major settlements.

Judging by the correspondence, it turns out the most complete confusion and nonsense. In the descriptions of the king, the cities are huge, 500 kilometers each, and the provinces are tiny. Perhaps, again, this is a feature of the nomadic measure of distances. The Khazars, Pechenegs, Polovtsians counted the journey in days, and distinguished the length of the road in the mountains and on the plain.
How was it really? Let's understand step by step.

Origin hypotheses

In the middle of the 7th century, in the expanses of flat Dagestan, in the Eastern Ciscaucasia, a hitherto unknown, but very strong people appeared - the Khazars. Who is it?

They call themselves "Kazars". The word, according to most researchers, comes from the common Turkic root "kaz", denoting the process of "nomadism". That is, they can call themselves simply nomads.

Other theories concern Persian ("Khazar" - "thousand"), Latin (Caesar) and Turkic ("enslave") languages. In fact, it is not known for certain, so we add this question to the list of open ones.

The origin of the people themselves is also shrouded in mystery. Today, most consider it still Turkic. What tribes claim to be the progenitors?

According to the first theory, these are the heirs of the Akatsir tribe, one part of the once great empire of the Huns.

The second option is that they are considered settlers from Khorasan.
These hypotheses have little evidence.

But the next two are quite strong and are confirmed by some facts. The only question is which sources are more accurate.

So, the third theory refers the Khazars to the descendants of the Uighurs. The Chinese in their chronicles mention them as "the people of Ko-sa". During the collapse of the Hun empire, taking advantage of the weakening of the Avars, part of the Oguzes went to the west. The self-names of the groups are translated as "10 tribes", "30 tribes", "white tribes", and so on.

Were there Khazars among them? Who can confirm this? It is believed that this people was among them.

In the process of resettlement, they find themselves in the Northern Caspian and Kuban. Later, with the growth of influence, they settled in the Crimea and near the mouth of the Volga.

With the advent of cities, crafts develop. Jewelers, blacksmiths, potters, tanners and other craftsmen form the basis for domestic trade.

The nobility and the ruling elite, as well as the army, lived off robberies and tribute from conquered neighbors.

In addition, a significant source of income was duties and taxes on goods that were transported through the territory of the khanate. In view of the fact that the history of the Khazars is inextricably linked with the East-West crossroads, they simply could not help but take advantage of the opportunities.

The route from China to Europe was in the hands of the Khaganate, and navigation along the Volga and the northern part of the Caspian Sea was under state control. Derbent has become a wall separating two warring religions - Orthodoxy and Islam. That gave an unprecedented opportunity for the emergence of intermediary trade.

In addition, Khazaria became the largest transshipment point in the slave trade. The captive northerners were perfectly bought up by the Persians and Arabs. Girls are like concubines for harems and servants, men are like warriors, houseworkers and for other hard work.

Also, the state in the 10-11 centuries minted its own coin. Although it was an imitation of Arab money, a remarkable point is that in the inscription “Muhammad is a prophet”, on Khazar coins, there was the name “Moses”.

Culture and religion

Researchers obtain the main information about the people from original written sources. With nomadic tribes such as the Khazars, Pechenegs, Polovtsy, things are more complicated. An ordered set of any documents simply does not exist.
And scattered inscriptions of a religious or everyday nature do not carry a large semantic load. From them receive only grains of information.

How much do we learn about the culture of the tribe from the inscription on the pot "made by Joseph"? Here it will be possible to understand only that pottery and some linguistic traditions were widespread, for example, the belonging of names to different peoples. Although this is not entirely true. This vessel could simply be bought and brought, for example, from the same Byzantium or Khorezm.

In fact, only one is known. The "unreasonable Khazars" included several nationalities and tribes who spoke Slavic, Arabic, Turkic and Jewish dialects. The elite of the state communicated and kept documentation in Hebrew, and ordinary people used runic writing, which leads to the hypothesis of its Turkic roots.

Modern researchers believe that the closest existing language to the Khazar language is Chuvash.

Religions in the state were also different. However, by the era of the decline of the Khaganate, Judaism became more and more dominant and dominant. The history of the Khazars is fundamentally connected with him. In the 10th and 11th centuries, the "peaceful cohabitation of faiths" came to an end.

Even disorder began among the Jewish and Muslim quarters of large cities. But in this case, the followers of the Prophet Muhammad were smashed.

We can hardly judge the state of things in the lower classes of society due to the lack of any sources, except for a few brief references. But more on that later.

Khazar documents

Stunning sources about the state of affairs in the state, its history and structure came to us thanks to one Spanish Jew. Cordoba courtier, named Hasdai ibn Shafrut, wrote a letter to the king of the Khazars with a request to tell about the kaganate.

Such an act was caused by his surprise. Being himself a Jew, and highly educated, he knew about the absent-mindedness of his fellow tribesmen. And here merchants coming from the east talk about the existence of a centralized, powerful and highly developed state dominated by Judaism.

Since diplomacy was also among the duties of Hasdai, he, as an ambassador, turned to the kagan for truthful information.

He did get an answer though. Moreover, he wrote (rather dictated) it himself personally “Melech Joseph, son of Aaron”, the Khagan of the Khazar Empire.

In the letter he gives a lot of interesting information. The greeting states that his ancestors had diplomatic ties with the Umayyads. Then he tells about the history and way of the state.

According to him, the biblical Yaphet, the son of Noah, is the ancestor of the Khazars. The king also tells the legend about the adoption of Judaism as the state religion. According to her, it was decided to replace the paganism that the Khazars used to profess. Who could do it best? Of course the priests. A Christian, a Muslim and a Jew were invited. The latter turned out to be the most eloquent and out-argued the others.

According to the second version (not from the letter), the test for the priests consisted in deciphering unknown scrolls, which, by a "lucky chance", turned out to be the Torah.
Further, the kagan tells about the geography of his country, its main cities and the way of life of the people. They spend spring and summer in nomad camps, and return to settlements during the cold season.

The letter ends with a boastful remark about the position of the Khazar Khaganate as the main deterrent that saves Muslims from the invasion of northern barbarians. Russia and the Khazars, it turns out, were very hostile in the 10th century, which led to the death

Where did the whole people go?

And yet, the Russian princes, such as Svyatoslav, Oleg the Prophet, could not destroy the whole people to the root. The Khazars had to stay and assimilate with the invaders or neighbors.

In addition, the mercenary army of the kaganate was also not small, since the state was forced to maintain peace in all the occupied territories and confront the Arabs and the Slavs.

To date, the most plausible version is the following. The empire owes its disappearance to a combination of several circumstances.

First, the rise in the level of the Caspian Sea. More than half of the country was at the bottom of the reservoir. Pastures and vineyards, dwellings and other things simply ceased to exist.

Thus, pressed by a natural disaster, people began to escape and move to the north and west, where they faced opposition from their neighbors. So the Kyiv princes had the opportunity to "take revenge on the unreasonable Khazars." The reason was a long time ago - the withdrawal of people into slavery, duties on

The third reason, which served as a control shot, was the confusion in the conquered tribes. They sensed the weakness of the position of the oppressors and revolted. The provinces were gradually lost one by one.

As a sum of all these factors, the weakened state fell as a result of the Russian campaign, which destroyed three main cities, including the capital. The prince's name was Svyatoslav. The Khazars could not oppose worthy opponents to the northern pressure. Mercenaries don't always fight to the end. Your life is more precious.

The most plausible version of who the surviving descendants are is as follows. In the course of assimilation, the Khazars merged with the Kalmyks, and today they are part of this people.

References in literature

In view of the small amount of surviving information, works about the Khazars are divided into several groups.

The first is historical documents or religious controversy.
The second is fiction based on the search for the missing country.
The third is pseudo-historical works.

The main characters are the kagan (often as a separate character), the king or bek Joseph, Shafrut, Svyatoslav and Oleg.

The main theme is the legend of the adoption of Judaism and the relationship between such peoples as the Slavs and the Khazars.

War with the Arabs

In total, historians distinguish two armed conflicts in the 7th-8th centuries. The first war lasted about ten years, the second - more than twenty-five.

The confrontation was a kaganate with three caliphates, which replaced each other in the process of historical development.

In 642, the first conflict was provoked by the Arabs. They invaded through the Caucasus into the territory of the Khazar Khaganate. Several images on vessels have been preserved from this period. Thanks to them, we can understand what the Khazars were like. Appearance, weapons, armor.

After ten years of unsystematic skirmishes and local conflicts, the Muslims decided on a massive attack, during which they suffered a crushing defeat at Belenjer.

The second war was longer and more prepared. It began in the early decades of the eighth century, and continued until 737. During this military conflict, the Khazar troops reached the walls of Mosul. But in response, the Arab troops captured Semender and the headquarters of the kagan.

Such clashes continued until the 9th century. After that, peace was concluded in view of strengthening the positions of Christian states. The border passed behind the wall of Derbent, which was Khazar. Everything to the south belonged to the Arabs.

Russia and the Khazars

The Kyiv prince Svyatoslav defeated the Khazars. Who will deny it? However, the fact reflects only the end of the relationship. What happened during the couple of centuries preceding the conquest?

The Slavs in the annals are mentioned by separate tribes (Radimichi, Vyatichi and others), which were subordinate to the Khazar Khaganate until they were captured by the Prophetic Oleg.

It is said that he imposed a lighter tribute on them with the only condition that they would not pay the Khazars now. This turn of events undoubtedly provoked a corresponding reaction from the empire. But the war is not mentioned in any source. We can guess about it only by the fact that peace was concluded and the Rus, Khazars and Pechenegs went on joint campaigns.

This people had such an interesting and difficult fate.

The tactics of the Pechenegs are simple. They swiftly attacked the villages, created a panic, killed the defenders, stuffed their bags with prey and disappeared. They never had the task of settling in the occupied territories.

First, the Pechenegs attacked Byzantium, and then crossed the Danube around the second half of the 11th century. This was the great transition of the Pecheneg Horde, which had a significant impact on the development of history.

The Pechenegs were pagans. Bon - a religion of Tibetan origin was native to them. They did not like to wash. They did not cut their hair, they braided it in long black braids. A hat was put on top of the head.

They are melted down through the rivers with the help of bags specially sewn from leather. All the necessary ammunition is placed inside, and then it is all sewn together so tightly that not a single drop of water can pass through. Their horses were famous for their speed. They easily overcame large spaces. Arrows soaked in snake venom led to inevitable death even with a slight scratch.

exotic food

The main food is millet, rice. Pechenegs cook cereals in milk. Salt - no. They milked horses and drank mare's milk instead of water, they did not fry raw meat, but put it under the saddle, so it warmed up. If hunger was already unbearable, they did not disdain cats and steppe animals. They were treated with infusions of various steppe herbs. They knew what kind of herbal infusion to drink in order to increase the range of vision. Many of them on the fly could shoot a bird the first time.

They took an oath of allegiance to each other, piercing a finger - they took turns drinking drops of blood.

The nomadic tribes of the Pechenegs lived in the trans-Volga steppes, then they began to inhabit the territory beyond the Volga and the Urals, from where they left to the west.

War with Russian princes

In the Nikon chronicle, one can find a story about the first summer clash between the troops of the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir and the Pechenegs in Transnistria.

Igor Rurikovich, who ascended the throne, was able to make peace with the Pechenegs, but they, despising such agreements, had already made not a short-term raid, but marched on a wide march through Russia. Therefore, Igor Rurikovich again enters into a fight with them. The Pechenegs go to the steppe.

Pecheneg intelligence worked well

They had a well-equipped reconnaissance. When Svyatoslav Igorevich goes on a campaign against Bulgaria with his army, the Pecheneg hordes unexpectedly besiege Kyiv. The townspeople defend their city with the last of their strength in the absence of the main combat units. The Russian scout, who knew the Pecheneg language well, was able to get through their cordons, swim across the Dnieper and call the voivode Pretich for help. He immediately hurried to help the besieged - the Pechenegs thought that it was the main troops of Svyatoslav Igorevich and rushed to flee, but they stopped near the Lybid River and sent envoys to the governor to find out if this was really Svyatoslav. The governor answered them that it was his advanced units that were going ahead, and the main ones behind them. The Pecheneg Khan immediately became a friend and offered a gift - a saber and a horse.

While negotiations were going on, Svyatoslav was able to send his troops against the invaders and drive them far back.

Pecheneg Khan Kurya was defeated by the son of Svyatoslav

The Pechenegs were able to defeat Svyatoslav only when he was returning from the Byzantine campaign. Near the Dnieper rapids, the Pechenegs organized several ambushes, killed all the Russians. The prince also died. The Pecheneg Khan Kurya made a golden cup out of his skull and showed off this trophy to other Pechenegs.

The eldest son of Svyatoslav, eleven-year-old Yaropolk, under the command of his regent Svenald, avenged his dead father in 978 and imposed a large tribute on the enemies.

Russian "Snake Shafts"

The built large fortifications - "Snake ramparts" - were built to protect against the attacks of the steppe nomads. The Russians organize round-the-clock duty not only on the ramparts, but also send out reconnaissance detachments far to the level.

In 988, Prince Vladimir tries to negotiate with the Pechenegs, attracting some of the princes to his side. But two years later, other Pecheneg princes again raid the territory of Russia, causing great harm. The response was immediate - Vladimir and his army completely defeated the Pechenegs. But two years later, the Pechenegs again gathered their army and stood near the Trubezh River. Russian troops, warned by intelligence, were already on the opposite side of the river. The Pecheneg fighter challenged the Russian hero Jan to a duel. The Russian won. Then the troops, inspired by this victory, attacked the Pechenegs and put them to flight.

The last raid on Russia under Yaroslav the Wise

After the death of Vladimir, the Pechenegs supported Svyatopolk, and Yaroslav had to win the victory on two fronts. In the battle near the city of Lyubech, the Pechenegs did not participate against Yaroslav, they were cut off by the lake and did not want to force it.

After coming to power, Yaroslav spent a lot of time and effort on strengthening the borders and cities.

Finally, in 1036, the last battle took place. When Yaroslav was in Novgorod, they laid siege to Kyiv. But the Russian prince was able to return to the battlefield and organize defense. The Pechenegs attacked first along the entire front. The Russian counterattack came as a surprise to them. The battle lasted all day, but Yaroslav was able to win. True, as historians note, with great difficulty.

Where did the Pechenegs disappear to?

The remnants of the Pechenegs went deep into the steppes and never again attempted to attack Russia. Their leader, Prince Tirah, attacked Bulgaria, then Byzantium, but was exhausted in continuous battles and gradually his army disintegrated. Some left to serve as mercenaries in the Byzantine, Hungarian and Russian troops. Other Pechenegs moved to the southeast, where they merged with other peoples.

Modern descendants of the Pechenegs

They became the progenitors of the Karapalkaps, Bashkirs, Gagauzes (Turkic people living in Bessarabia, Odessa region of Ukraine, on the territory of Moldova as part of the autonomous territory of Gagauz). The large Kyrgyz clan Bechen descended from the Pechenegs.

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Pechenegs(Old Slavic pєchenѣzi, other Greek Πατζινάκοι) - a union of Turkic-speaking nomadic tribes, presumably formed in the VIII-IX centuries. The Pecheneg language belonged to the Oguz subgroup of the Turkic language group.

They are mentioned in Byzantine, Arabic, Old Russian and Western European sources.

Exodus from Asia (Khazar period)

According to many scientists, the Pechenegs were part of the Kangly people. Part of the Pechenegs called themselves Kangars. At the end of the 9th century, those who were called "pazzinak" (Pechenegs), as a result of climatic changes (drought) in the steppe zone of Eurasia, as well as under the pressure of neighboring tribes Kimaks and Oghuz crossed the Volga and ended up in the Eastern European steppes, where they previously roamed ugry. Under them, this land was called Levedia, and under the Pechenegs, it received the name padzinakia(Greek Πατζινακία).

Around 882, the Pechenegs reached the Crimea. Then the Pechenegs come into conflict with the princes of Kyiv Askold (875 - this clash is described in later chronicles and is disputed by historians), Igor (915, 920). After the collapse of the Khazar Khaganate (965), power over the steppes west of the Volga passed to the Pecheneg hordes. During this period, the Pechenegs occupied the territories between Kievan Rus, Hungary, Danube Bulgaria, Alania, the territory of modern Mordovia and the Oguzes inhabiting Western Kazakhstan. The hegemony of the Pechenegs led to the decline of the sedentary culture, since the agricultural settlements of the Transnistrian Slavs (Tivertsy: Ekimoutskoe settlement) and the Don Alans (Mayatskoe settlement) were devastated and destroyed.

The nature of the relationship between Russia and nomads

From the very beginning, the Pechenegs and Rus became rivals and enemies. They belonged to different civilizations, there was an abyss of religious differences between them. In addition, both of them were distinguished by a warlike disposition. And if Russia over time acquired the features of a real state that provides for itself, which means it can not attack its neighbors for the purpose of profit, then its southern neighbors have remained nomads by nature, leading a semi-wild lifestyle.

Pechenegs are another wave splashed out by the Asian steppes. On the territory of Eastern Europe, this scenario has played out cyclically for several hundred years. At first these were Huns who by their migration marked the beginning of the Great Migration of Nations. Arriving in Europe, they terrified the more civilized peoples, but eventually disappeared. On their way in the future went Slavs and Magyars. However, they managed to survive, and even settle down and settle in a certain territory.

The Slavs, among other things, became a kind of "human shield" of Europe. It was they who constantly took the blow of new hordes. Pechenegs in this sense are just one of many. In the future, the Polovtsy will come to their place, and in the XIII century - the Mongols.

Relations with the steppes were determined not only by the two parties themselves, but also in Constantinople. Byzantine emperors sometimes tried to push neighbors. Various methods were used: gold, threats, assurances of friendship.

History of the Pechenegs associated with Russia

By the XI century, pressed by the Polovtsians, the Pechenegs roamed 13 tribes between the Danube and the Dnieper. Some of them professed the so-called Nestorianism. Bruno of Querfurt preached the Catholic faith among them with the help of Vladimir. Al-Bakri reports that around 1009 the Pechenegs converted to Islam.

Around 1010, a strife arose among the Pechenegs. The Pechenegs of Prince Tirakh converted to Islam, while the two western tribes of Prince Kegen (Belemarnids and Pahumanids, totaling 20,000 people) crossed the Danube into Byzantine territory under the scepter of Constantine Monomakh in Dobruja and adopted Byzantine-style Christianity.

The Byzantine emperor planned to make border guards out of them. However, in 1048, huge masses of Pechenegs (up to 80,000 people), led by Tirakh, crossed the Danube on ice and invaded the Balkan possessions of Byzantium.

The Pechenegs took part in the internecine war between Yaroslav the Wise and Svyatopolk the Accursed on the side of the latter. In 1016 they participated in the battle of Lyubech, in 1019 in the battle of Alta (both times unsuccessfully).

The last documented Russian-Pecheneg conflict is the siege of Kyiv in 1036, when the nomads besieging the city were finally defeated by Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise, who arrived in time with the army. Yaroslav used a formation dissected along the front, placing Kyivans and Novgorodians on the flanks. After that, the Pechenegs ceased to play an independent role, but acted as a significant part of the new tribal union of the Berendeys, also called black hoods. The memory of the Pechenegs was also alive much later: for example, in a literary work, the Turkic hero Chelubey, who started the Battle of Kulikovo with a duel, is called a “Pecheneg”.

The battle near Kyiv in 1036 was the final one in the history of the Russo-Pecheneg wars.

Subsequently, the main part of the Pechenegs went to the steppes of the North-Western Black Sea region, and in 1046–1047, under the leadership of Khan Tirakh, they crossed the Danube ice and fell on Bulgaria, which at that time was a Byzantine province. Byzantium periodically waged a fierce war with them, then showered them with gifts. Further, the Pechenegs, unable to withstand the onslaught of the Torks, Polovtsy and Guzes, as well as the war with Byzantium, partly entered the Byzantine service as federates, partly were accepted by the Hungarian king to carry out border service, and for the same purpose were partly received by the Russian princes.

The other part, immediately after their defeat near Kyiv, went to the southeast, where they assimilated among other nomadic peoples.

In 1048 the Western Pechenegs settled in Moesia. In 1071, the Pechenegs played an unclear role in the defeat of the Byzantine army near Manzikert. In 1091, the Byzantine-Polovtsian army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Pechenegs near the walls of Constantinople.

The Arab-Sicilian geographer of the 12th century, Abu Hamid al Garnati, writes in his essay about a large number of Pechenegs south of Kyiv and in the city itself (“and there are thousands of Maghrebians in it”).

Descendants of the Pechenegs

In 1036, Prince Yaroslav the Wise (the son of the Baptist of Russia, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich (from the Rurik family) and the Polotsk princess Rogneda Rogvolodovna) defeated the western unification of the Pechenegs. At the end of the 11th century, under pressure from the Polovtsy, they moved to the Balkan Peninsula or to Great Hungary. In accordance with the scientific hypothesis, one part of the Pechenegs formed the basis of the Gagauz and Karakalpak peoples. The other part joined the association of yurmata. The Kirghiz have a large clan Bechen (Bichine), genealogically descending from the Pechenegs.

Nevertheless, the memory of the steppes was alive among the people for a long time. So, already in 1380, in the battle on the Kulikovo field, the hero Chelubey, who began the battle with his own duel, was called the Pecheneg by the chronicler.

Foundations and occupations

The Pechenegs are a community of tribes, in the 10th century there were eight of them, in the 11th - thirteen. Each tribe had a khan, who was chosen, as a rule, from one clan. As a military force, the Pechenegs were a powerful formation. In battle formation, they used the same wedge, which consisted of separate detachments, carts were installed between the detachments, and a reserve stood behind the carts.

However, the researchers write that the main occupation for the Pechenegs was nomadic cattle breeding. They lived in tribal order. But they were not averse to making war as mercenaries.

Appearance

According to available ancient sources, at the time of the appearance of the Pechenegs in the Black Sea region, Caucasoid features prevailed in their appearance. They are characterized as dark-haired, who shaved their beards (according to the description in the travel notes of the Arab author Ahmad ibn Fadlan), had short stature, narrow faces, small eyes.

Lifestyle

The steppes, as one would expect, were mainly engaged in cattle breeding and wandered along with their animals. Fortunately, there were all conditions for this, since the tribal union was located in a vast area. The internal structure was like this. There were two big groups. The first settled between the Dnieper and the Volga, while the second roamed between Russia and Bulgaria. In each of them there were forty genera. The approximate center of the possessions of the tribe was the Dnieper, which divided the steppes into western and eastern.

The head of the tribe was chosen at a general meeting. Despite the tradition of counting votes, fathers were mostly inherited by children.

Pechenegs in art

The siege of Kyiv by the Pechenegs is reflected in the poem by A. S. Pushkin "Ruslan and Lyudmila":

In the distance, lifting black dust;

The marching carts are coming,

Bonfires are burning on the hills.

Trouble: the Pechenegs rebelled!

In Sergei Yesenin's poem "Walking Field" there are lines:

Am I sleeping and dreaming

What with spears from all sides,

Are we surrounded by Pechenegs?

The history of Ancient Russia is replete with stories and references to the Pechenegs. Historians and archaeologists are actively engaged in the study of ancient times, and they can quite exhaustively tell who the Pechenegs are, what are their characteristics, role in history, character, appearance, origin.

Speaking of this tribe, we mean not just the people, we are talking about the army. War is the main activity of this nomadic tribe.

Wikipedia reports that their army was formed presumably in the 8th-9th century, it included several ancient nomadic tribes.

The place of nomadism of the tribe is Central Asia. The name "Pechenegs" comes from the word "beche", which was the name of the leader of the united tribes.

They had their own language of Turkic origin, and their main occupation was cattle breeding.

They did not build solid buildings, fortifications, but they transported the bulk of their profits received in military battles with them on carts.

At the head was the khan, who made all the important decisions regarding the life of the tribe. However, there were also so-called meetings of the elders, who also contributed.

In the event of the death of the khan, power was inherited.

What did the Pechenegs look like?

Scientists came to the unanimous opinion that the representatives of the ancient tribe did not have any pronounced differences from the Russian population. The facial features of the nomads were Caucasoid with an admixture of Mongoloid.

They were short brunettes with narrow faces and small eyes. Distinctive features for them were a beard, forelock, mustache. Such an outward resemblance to Russian people is not a surprising fact.

In the conditions of a long-lasting war, they often took captive men, who later became their full-fledged warriors, and women were forced to be their concubines.

Contemporaries of the Pechenegs

Recent studies report that the descendants of famous barbarians are:

• Bashkir yurmats;
• Moldovan Gagauz;
• Uzbek Karakalpaks.

But on this issue, scientists have not come to a consensus. Studying the existing data on the ancient people, the search for their contemporaries is not so simple. After all, as you know, the tribe itself is a union of several communities, which complicates the situation and disperses opinions.

There is a statement that the clan of the tribe at its decline was divided into two lines:

• the Turkic people of the Gagauz (modern territory of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova);
• settlers of right-bank Ukraine.

Archaeologists on the territory of Russia and Moldova have found burial places of nomadic people. These are low mounds. With the warrior they buried all his equipment, weapons, arrows, as well as wealth: gold coins, jewelry, horses.

Compiled portraits of the Pechenegs

Archaeological and anthropological studies allow us to create an approximate portrait of an ancient warrior (see photo) and we can imagine what the Pechenegs looked like.

Clothing, weapons of a warrior correspond to the nomadic people of those times. Such tribes did not introduce any features into their appearance.

Modern directors in the film adaptation of films in which the action takes place in ancient times also tried to convey as accurately as possible the appearance of the people and characteristics:

10 interesting facts about the Pechenegs

1. They were pagans. The religion of the Tibetan peoples - Bon - was close to them.
2. They rarely washed their hair and washed their faces.
3. They used leather bags to cross rivers.
4. The arrows they used were dipped in deadly poison, so even a small scratch was fatal.
5. They were famous for their knowledge of herbs. In addition to the use of decoctions for treatment, they knew recipes that give unusual powers: improved vision, quick reactions, and so on.
6. They were not picky about food. The main food was rice, millet, but they cooked it exclusively in milk.
7. The meat was consumed raw, having previously been held under the saddle to obtain the desired temperature.
8. In conditions of hard life and hunger, they could not disdain to eat a cat or other steppe animals.
9. There were legends about the speed of their horses. They knew how to choose true horses among horses.
10. Taking an oath of allegiance, the warrior wounded his finger, and his brothers in arms drank his blood.

The struggle of Russia with the Pechenegs

To raid and conquer the nomads was driven by nothing more than the search for a better life. Constant droughts were an impossible condition for the economy of the tribe. The conquest of territories, reservoirs over time has become an integral part of their lives.

The barbarians were famous for their lightning-fast, destructive raids. Even if the goal was not to seize the territory, they caused irreparable harm to settled peoples: they destroyed, killed, robbed, took prisoners

The struggle of Russia with the nomads was long. To protect their borders, the troops built defensive structures: fortresses, ponds, ramparts. In addition, even the baptism of Russia is credited with a more practical meaning than it might initially seem, namely: the unification of the people by one faith to fight the “impure barbarians”.

Pecheneg attacks on Russia were regular. The first clash of Russian troops with the Pecheneg horde dates back to 915, when Prince Igor was at the head of Kievan Rus.

Although the nature of the relationship between the troops is not limited to conflicts. There are records of joint campaigns with the Russians against Byzantium.

First attack

There were constant raids. However, the most serious of the attacks is considered to be committed in 969. A planned raid speaks of the seriousness of intentions and the strategic skills of military leaders.

Taking advantage of the absence of Prince Svyatoslav in Kyiv, the nomads attacked.

As you know, the main part of the army always accompanies the prince, and the prince himself knows how to defend his state better than anyone.

The defense organization had to be commanded by the mother of Prince Svyatoslav, Princess Olga.

The state of the city was deplorable. In addition to the fact that there were not enough soldiers for protection, the barbarians besieged the entrances and exits, not allowing caravans with food and water to enter the city.

And the prolonged heat that was established at that time only aggravated the situation of the people of Kiev. However, Olga managed to withstand such an onslaught. Returning, the prince defeated the Pecheneg detachments and defended his borders.

Note! Prince Svyatoslav was killed by the Pechenegs three years later.

Upon returning from the Byzantine campaign, an ambush awaited Prince Svyatoslav. It was arranged by none other than the Pechenegs, led by Khan Kurya. In this ambush, the Russian army was defeated, and Prince Svyatoslav was killed. The legend says that Khan Kurya made a golden goblet from the skull of a Kievan prince.

The defeat of the Pechenegs by Yaroslav the Wise near Kyiv

The events of 1036 are equated by historians with the fateful ones in the life of the Pecheneg tribes. Perhaps, without attacking Russia, such a people would not have disappeared.

The raid on Kyiv was planned in the absence of the prince, who at that time was in Novgorod. Having besieged the city, the enemies rushed to the attack with all their might. The prince who returned in time with his retinue defeated the offenders.

Note! According to all reports, the nomads had good intelligence, they planned all their large-scale attacks during the absence of the prince in the city.

Historians argue that the battle of Prince Yaroslav the Wise was difficult, and the victory he won was given with great difficulty. It is worth noting that the tactics of the prince played a big role, who not only rushed into battle against the enemy, but made strategic decisions.

The nomads outnumbered the Russian army. The decision of Prince Yaroslav was to divide the army: in the center, the Varangians stood up for defense, the people of Kiev on the right, and the Novgorodians on the left.

A resounding victory has come to pass. It meant not only the expulsion of nomads from the city, but also the fact that the Russians achieved an end to the Pechenegs' raids on Russian lands.

Interesting to know! In honor of this victory, Prince Yaroslav the Wise ordered the construction of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.

After the defeat, the tribe hid in the steppes of the northwestern Black Sea region. Further fate connects the nomads with Byzantium. In their relationship there were both conflicts and joint campaigns.

Over time, this nomadic army ceased to exist. And his soldiers went to hired services in the Byzantine, Russian troops, as well as in the troops of other nomadic tribes.

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Summing up

After the disappearance of the Pechenegs, the “rule” of a new, even more cruel army, the Polovtsy, began in the steppes. The Pechenegs themselves did not retain their nationality and mass character.

Similarities with representatives of this tribe can be seen in many modern peoples, but there is no full evidence of this. Their deplorable fate did not allow us to learn more about this people.

Pechenegs - what were the first enemies of Russia

The tactics of the Pechenegs are simple. They swiftly attacked the villages, created a panic, killed the defenders, stuffed their bags with prey and disappeared. They never had the task of settling in the occupied territories.

First, the Pechenegs attacked Byzantium, and then crossed the Danube around the second half of the 11th century. This was the great transition of the Pecheneg Horde, which had a significant impact on the development of history.

The Pechenegs were pagans. Bon - a religion of Tibetan origin was native to them. They did not like to wash. They did not cut their hair, they braided it in long black braids. A hat was put on top of the head.

They are melted down through the rivers with the help of bags specially sewn from leather. All the necessary ammunition is placed inside, and then it is all sewn together so tightly that not a single drop of water can pass through. Their horses were famous for their speed. They easily overcame large spaces. Arrows soaked in snake venom led to inevitable death even with a slight scratch.

exotic food

The main food is millet, rice. Pechenegs cook cereals in milk. Salt - no. They milked horses and drank mare's milk instead of water, they did not fry raw meat, but put it under the saddle, so it warmed up. If hunger was already unbearable, they did not disdain cats and steppe animals. They were treated with infusions of various steppe herbs. They knew what kind of herbal infusion to drink in order to increase the range of vision. Many of them on the fly could shoot a bird the first time.

They took an oath of allegiance to each other, piercing a finger - they took turns drinking drops of blood.

The nomadic tribes of the Pechenegs lived in the trans-Volga steppes, then they began to inhabit the territory beyond the Volga and the Urals, from where they left to the west.

War with Russian princes

In the Nikon chronicle, one can find a story about the first summer clash between the troops of the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir and the Pechenegs in Transnistria.

Igor Rurikovich, who ascended the throne, was able to make peace with the Pechenegs, but they, despising such agreements, had already made not a short-term raid, but marched on a wide march through Russia. Therefore, Igor Rurikovich again enters into a fight with them. The Pechenegs go to the steppe.

Pecheneg intelligence worked well

They had a well-equipped reconnaissance. When Svyatoslav Igorevich goes on a campaign against Bulgaria with his army, the Pecheneg hordes unexpectedly besiege Kyiv. The townspeople defend their city with the last of their strength in the absence of the main combat units. The Russian scout, who knew the Pecheneg language well, was able to get through their cordons, swim across the Dnieper and call the voivode Pretich for help. He immediately hurried to help the besieged - the Pechenegs thought that it was the main troops of Svyatoslav Igorevich and rushed to flee, but they stopped near the Lybid River and sent envoys to the governor to find out if this was really Svyatoslav. The governor answered them that it was his advanced units that were going ahead, and the main ones behind them. The Pecheneg Khan immediately became a friend and offered a gift - a saber and a horse.

While negotiations were going on, Svyatoslav was able to send his troops against the invaders and drive them far back.

Pecheneg Khan Kurya was defeated by the son of Svyatoslav

The Pechenegs were able to defeat Svyatoslav only when he was returning from the Byzantine campaign. Near the Dnieper rapids, the Pechenegs organized several ambushes, killed all the Russians. The prince also died. The Pecheneg Khan Kurya made a golden cup out of his skull and showed off this trophy to other Pechenegs.

The eldest son of Svyatoslav Yaropolk, under the command of his regent Svenald, avenged his dead father in 978 and imposed a large tribute on the enemies.

Russian "Snake Shafts"

The built large fortifications - "Snake ramparts" - built large fortifications became protection against attacks of the steppe nomads. The Russians organize round-the-clock duty not only on the ramparts, but also send out reconnaissance detachments far to the level.

In 988, Prince Vladimir tries to negotiate with the Pechenegs, attracting some of the princes to his side. But two years later, other Pecheneg princes again raid the territory of Russia, causing great harm. The response was immediate - Vladimir and his army completely defeated the Pechenegs. But two years later, the Pechenegs again gathered their army and stood near the Trubezh River. Russian troops, warned by intelligence, were already on the opposite side of the river. The Pecheneg fighter challenged the Russian hero Jan to a duel. The Russian won. Then the troops, inspired by this victory, attacked the Pechenegs and put them to flight. Where did the Pechenegs disappear to?

The remnants of the Pechenegs went deep into the steppes and never again attempted to attack Russia. Their leader, Prince Tirah, attacked Bulgaria, then Byzantium, but was exhausted in continuous battles and gradually his army disintegrated. Some left to serve as mercenaries in the Byzantine, Hungarian and Russian troops. Other Pechenegs moved to the southeast, where they merged with other peoples.

Modern descendants of the Pechenegs

They became the progenitors of the Karapalkaps, Bashkirs, Gagauzes (Turkic people living in Bessarabia, Odessa region of Ukraine, on the territory of Moldova as part of the autonomous territory of Gagauz). The large Kyrgyz clan Bechen descended from the Pechenegs.