In the 3rd century AD, the Sarmatians who dominated the southern Russian steppes were pushed back by the German tribes of the Goths, who descended along the Dnieper and Don. Having conquered the western corner of the Eurasian steppes, the Goths soon adopted both the customs of the nomads and the material culture of the people they had discarded. Over time, they themselves became mounted warriors, and around the middle of the 4th century they organized a strong military state headed by Ermanaric 12 . As they successfully conquered one East Slavic tribe after another and forced the peasants to work for themselves, it seemed that they established permanent Teutonic rule over the Slavs.
However, by the end of the 4th century, a new offensive from the east in turn crushed the power of the Goths. These intruders were the Huns, a Turkish tribe led by a military aristocracy,
similar to the Mongolian one, which much later, in the XIII century, devastated Russia.
The Khan of the Huns first made the Alans his vassals, and then turned to the Goths, whom he easily defeated. Wounded by this defeat, the Goth king Ermanaric committed suicide, and the tribe began to retreat in a western direction, to the lower reaches of the Danube. However, in the region of the Bug, which lies between this river and their refuge, the An-tov tribe lived. The refusal of the Antes to allow the passage of the Goths led to a bloody conflict. The Goths destroyed one of the Antes detachments, and the heir of Ermanaric ordered the Antes leader Boz, all his sons and seventy elders to be crucified. By this time, the Hun Khan allowed the Alans, under his control, to come to the aid of their relatives - the Antes. The Goths were again defeated and driven further west. But even there they did not manage to completely escape the power of the Huns, since the Huns, apparently following them, moved into westbound, and most of the Central Europe.
AT last years During Attila's life, Pannonia, the western outpost of the Eurasian steppes, now known as Hungary, became the center of his power. Strategically located for predatory campaigns on the Mediterranean coast, Rome and Byzantium, Pannonia was a favorite target of nomadic invasions for a long time, until, finally, at the end of the 9th century, it was occupied by the Magyars. Although Atilla's empire at one time occupied a vast area from east to west, after his death it quickly fell apart and opened the way for the formation of new ones. political organizations. The remnants of the Huns may have retreated to the region of Azov, where they were known as the Bulgarian tribe.
5. Lithuanians and Finns
While nomadic Iranian and Turkish tribes crowded each other in the southern Russian steppes, Finno-Ugric tribes occupied the forests on both sides of the Ural Mountains. The Finns constituted the northern, or Ural, branch of the Finno-Ugric peoples. Southern group belonged to the Magyars, culturally related to the Turks. The northern Finnish tribes lived dispersed in the forests of the northern regions and were a people of hunters and fishermen. They ate mostly
fish, dressed in furs, which were the main article in trade with neighbors. Communication between them was very difficult, it was carried out only along the rivers, so they could not create a strong government. When a wave of Slavic colonization began in the north, the northern tribes were unable to resist it. As the Slavs penetrated into their territory, the Finns either left or gradually dissolved in the ever-increasing mass of newcomers.
AT northwestern Russia, in the basin of the Western Dvina and the Neman, a group of Baltic, or Lithuanian, tribes lived, which linguistically belonged to the Indo-Europeans. The country they occupied was predominantly wooded, but not to the same extent as that of the Finns. Even in this early period, some lands were cleared of forests, and the people partly engaged in agriculture. These early Lithuanians did not live in communal villages, but in isolated households, as their descendants did much later, in the 16th and 17th centuries. basis social unity there was a family, its head had absolute power over its members and household servants. In case of extreme danger, several such family clans could unite for a common defense. These associations made it possible to control large Lithuanian tribes. Over time, they became a warlike people, and the mounds of this region contain many examples of iron axes, spears, swords, as well as bits, stirrups and other horse accessories.
In the middle of the 3rd century, the Scythian settlements perished under the onslaught of the Goths and Alans. The Scythians as an ethnic group cease to exist.
The Goth warrior was armed with a spear, sword or battle ax, dagger. In battle, he covered himself with a wooden shield, in the center of which a metal plaque was fixed - umbon. The warrior held the shield by the iron handle. Swords and daggers in scabbards were hung from the belt. Gothic women wore a variety of jewelry - brooches, bracelets, earrings, pendants, beads, rings, rings. They used various cosmetics, which they kept in balsamaria - small glass vessels.
AT Peaceful time the Goths were engaged in agriculture. They grew wheat, bought wine and olive oil in amphorae, red-glazed and glassware, and jewelry. The trade was probably barter. Some of the coins found in the burials of the Goths had holes drilled in them, hence they were used as decorations.
The Germans had developed handicraft production. Blacksmiths made weapons and jewelry from silver, bronze, and iron. Unlike other barbarians, the Goths knew how to use the potter's wheel. They made jugs, bowls and large three-handled vessels - "vases".
The Goths who came to Crimea were pagans. They worshiped gods who personified the forces of nature. In Germanic mythology, the hammer is the weapon of Thor, the god of thunder and lightning. The Goths believed in the existence of the other world - it is no coincidence that their burial was accompanied by a variety of inventory, which was supposed to serve the owner in the next world.
The place is occupied by the Huns, who came to the Northern Black Sea region in 375. The flat part of the Crimea turned into nomad camps of the Hunnic tribes, and the inhabitants of the valleys moved to the mountains.
The Huns were the descendants of the Xiongnu people, warlike nomads who lived north and west of the borders of China.
Anthropological studies have shown that the Huns belonged to Mongoloid race. They most likely spoke one of the Turkic languages.
The military success of the Huns is partly due to their more advanced equipment. It was the Huns who brought new types of bows and saddles to Europe. Distinctive feature of the Hun's bow were his big sizes(120-160 cm) and asymmetrical shape. It was made from several pieces of wood, sometimes of different species. Bone or horn facings were attached to the wooden base with the help of glue and animal sinews, which gave the bow additional rigidity. Arrows fired from the new bow designs traveled faster and farther than arrows fired from older bows. Thanks to the new bow, the Huns now have the ability to use larger arrowheads, capable of penetrating even the toughest armor.
Another invention of the Huns was new design saddles. In that era, stirrups were not yet known, and therefore it depended on the saddle whether the rider could stay on the horse in the heat of battle. The hard Hun saddle had a wooden base covered with leather and fastened with metal plates. These plates were often decorated with stamped or punch (dotted) ornaments. The bows of the Hun saddles were held high. It was easier for the rider to fight in such a saddle than in a flat leather saddle.
Cast bronze cauldrons were a feature of the Hunnic culture. Quite a few of these cauldrons have been found in burials. They usually had a funnel-shaped leg, a cylindrical body, the throat was separated from the body by a sharp circular rib, U-shaped handles were decorated with mushroom-shaped protrusions. Some researchers consider Hunnic cauldrons to be ordinary cauldrons for cooking food, others - ritual vessels in which the meat of sacrificial animals was cooked, and mushroom-shaped protrusions crowning the handles of cauldrons - stylized images of the tree of life.
During the excavations of the Hunnic monuments, a lot of original decorations were found, made in red and yellow. color scheme. The surface of gold items was divided into cells in which there were stones - almandines or carnelian, or inserts of glass of reddish hues. An important element in such things was granulation - an ornament of tiny gold balls soldered to the surface of the product. This is artistic direction was called the "Hun polychrome style". So the hilts of swords and daggers, scabbards, buckles, brooches, tiaras, earrings, harness details were designed. Probably, for the manufacture of such things the Huns used the gold that came to them from Rome and Byzantium. It is known that they bought off the Huns by paying their leaders huge sums in gold coins - solids. However, no coins were found in the Hun burials. Consequently, gold was melted down and used to make precious jewelry.
Archaeological studies of this and other Hunnic burial sites confirm the data of written sources - the love of the Huns for gold, the important role of the horse in their life and religious ideas.
The steppe part of the Belogorsk region experienced a constant change of inhabitants. At the end of the 7th century, the Khazars appeared - their settlement of Tau-Kipchak (near the village of Zuya) is known. The Pechenegs are replacing the Khazars. In the middle of the 11th century they were forced out by the Polovtsians.
The XIII century brought destruction to the lands of the region: from the east they invaded Mongol hordes. Several times they fought against Sugdeya (modern Sudak), destroying everything in their path. A legend about an oak tree on the outskirts of Belogorsk is connected with these events.
The first mention of the name "Karasubazar" (the old name of Belogorsk) dates back to the 13th century. During these times, a kind of feudal possessions - beyliks - were formed. Most of district belonged to two families: Argyn and Shirin. The center of the Argyn beylik was the village of Argyn (modern Balki). The Shirin clan was the most powerful in the Crimea. The lands of the clan extended from Perekop to Kerch. At first, Shirin Bey's residence was in Stary Krym, but later it was moved to Karasubazar.
At the same time, for the inhabitants, the period from the middle of the 11th century to the 20s of the 13th century in the foothills was peaceful and favorable. Karasubazar was connected with Sugdeya through a mountain pass. Sugdeya in those days was a major international shopping mall. Under the influence of Byzantium, Christianity spread. Gradually, the villages of the northern slope of Karabi and along the Belogorsk-Privetnoe road become Christian. Christian villages and cities are growing, numerous churches are being built.
Later, the mountainous part of the region came under the influence of the Genoese Italians. In 1380, they signed an agreement with the governor of the Golden Horde in the Crimea, according to which the Italians owned Soldaya (Sugdeya, modern Sudak) and 18 villages in the district. Among them were those that were located along the Belogorsk-Privetnoe road and on northern slopes Karabi (for example, the village of Alekseevka).
1
The beginning of the "great migration of peoples" is usually considered the 60-70s of the II century. n. e. - the time of the so-called Marcomannic War, when the Roman Empire at a high price managed to repel the first mighty onslaught of European tribes on its northwestern limits 2 . “All the peoples from the borders of Illyricum to Gaul formed a conspiracy, namely the Marcomanni, Varists, Hermunduri and Quadi, Suebi, Sarmatians, Lakringi and Boers, Vandals with Victuals, Wasps, Besses, Cobots, Roxolans, Basterns, Alans, Peucins and Costoboci,” this is how the Roman historian Julius Capitolinus 3 characterizes the enemy forces that fell upon the empire.
The Marcomannic War served as a signal for a number of major military actions of European tribes, which were perceived in the empire not as the actions of military squads, (143) but as the resettlement of entire tribes, which was in fact a relatively rare occurrence. At the turn of the III century. n. e. the Goths penetrated the northwestern Black Sea region, and over the following centuries, inflicted a number of blows on the Balkan provinces of the Roman Empire. If in the west during the Marcomannic War, as Julius Kapitolin reports, Thracian and even Sarmatian tribes opposed Rome together with the Germans and Celts, then in the east the latter undoubtedly constituted the bulk of the armed forces of the Gothic associations. Long before the Goths, they began a struggle with the empire here, but now they continued it in the new political conditions.
The question of the Goths and their "barbarian state" on the Black Sea coast is one of the darkest questions of ancient history. of Eastern Europe. The main source for studying the history of the Goths is the work of Bishop Jordan "On the Goths" ("De rebus Gethicis"), written in 551 on the basis of earlier sources: the writings of an unknown historian of the end of the 4th century. n. e. Ablabia, and especially the "History of the Goths" by Cassiodorus, a major politician of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric. The writings of Cassiodorus, written at the end of the 5th century. n. e., in the same way they did not reach the present, but it is certain that the pen of a courtier and an outstanding diplomat, which Cassiodorus was, could not have belonged to an impartial historical work, but a tendentious political work that would glorify the history of the "royal family of Amal". Similar political motives were in turn guided by the author of the history of the Getae and the Goths. As a result, he turned out that the Goths supposedly have no less ancient and glorious history than Rome itself, that they were mighty and numerous people and that their warlike kings extended their power to huge spaces up to the Baltic and the upper reaches of the Volga. The fancifulness of many places in the work of Jordanes is quite obvious; only reactionary German bourgeois historians could accept them as truth.
The Goths were, apparently, part of the East Germanic tribes - Goths, Gotons, or Gutons, who lived in Southern Baltic at western frontiers Slavic land and moved south in the period following the Marcomannic War. Infiltrating on Black Sea coast, they found themselves in a tense situation of the growing struggle of the local Scythian-Alanian, Thracian and Slavic tribes against the Roman Empire, joined the movement and found themselves at the head of extensive tribal unions that struck at the empire throughout the 3rd century. n. e. Judging by the archaeological data (144) depicting the East Germanic tribes of the beginning of our era, the Goths stood at a lower stage of cultural development than the population of the Northern Black Sea region, which consisted mainly of Scythian-Alanian tribes - the direct heirs of the Scythian-Sarmatian Black Sea culture. The Gothic detachments did not have any noticeable impact on the local cultural life, but, on the contrary, they themselves very soon learned the Black Sea norms of life and culture. This is precisely what explains the mysterious, at first glance, fact that archaeological science, studying the development of culture in the Northern Black Sea region, cannot catch any tangible signs of the appearance of Goths. During the first centuries of our era, the continuity of cultural life in the Black Sea region was not disturbed in any way, and this continued until the invasion of the Huns. No new features in the culture of the North-Western Black Sea region associated with the appearance of the Goths could be indicated even by nationalist German archeology, which tried on this basis to assert that the Germans allegedly occupied this territory for a long time, which was already a complete fantasy.
Speaking of the Goths in the Northern Black Sea region, it should also be pointed out that the number of Goths proper was probably relatively small and their appearance did not mean a change in population, even in very limited areas of the Black Sea coast. Only the name "Goths", as a collective, very soon spread in the empire to designate the barbarian tribes of the entire North-Western Black Sea region, but they were also spoken of as the tribes that were formerly called Scythians and which are now called Goths.
In the 70s of the 4th century, the Eastern Gothic tribal union was brutally defeated by the Huns, who swept in from the east - a vast association of nomadic tribes that arose beyond the Don and the Volga, headed by the nomads of the Asian steppes.
According to the Latin writer of the 4th century Ammian Marcellinus, the Huns, having crossed the Volga, first attacked the Alans, who lived near the Sea of Azov and in the lower reaches of the Don. Further, together with the Alans, they began a struggle with the Ostrogothic king Germanarich and soon destroyed his "kingdom", which is far from being as strong as Jordan is trying to portray. Some local tribes took advantage of the favorable situation and hastened to withdraw from the Ostrogothic association. The first among them, as Jordan points out, were the Rosomones, in whom, perhaps, one of the East Slavic tribes should be seen. Germanaric was killed (145) by Rosomones 1 . Ammian Marcellinus describes the death of Germanarich differently, reporting that Germanarich committed suicide, seeing the inevitable collapse of his "kingdom" 2 . The Huns defeated the detachments of Germanarich's successor, Vinitar, and rushed further west to the region of the Vezigots. The latter, however, evaded a decisive battle with the Huns and retreated to the Transylvanian mountains and beyond the Danube, having received permission from Emperor Valens to settle in Thrace. From that moment, from 376, the Huns became the masters of the Black Sea steppes for a long time. They united around themselves numerous local Sarmatian-Alanian tribes; at the turn of the 5th century they made campaigns in Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, and then, moving west, extended their power to the vast expanses of Central Europe and began to fight against the empire. In 435, all the tribes subordinate to the Huns were united into a single "power", headed by the famous Hun military and political leader Attila. For the next 20 years, Attila ruled over half Central Europe, repeatedly inflicted severe defeats on the empire, and sometimes served as an instrument of its policy. In 451, he made an attempt to subjugate Gaul, that is, the regions lying west of the Rhine. Fierce battle on Catalaunian fields, where almost all Central European tribes opposed the destroyers-Huns, but did not bring victory to the Huns. This was the beginning of a whole series of military and political failures of Attila, which predetermined the impending collapse of his huge, but completely fragile predatory "power".
2
The military situation in the Northern Black Sea region and the Carpathian region, associated with the Gothic period and the invasion of the Huns, could not but have a significant impact on the life of the ancient Slavic tribes, despite the fact that this stage"Great Migration of Nations", they, apparently, have not yet acted in the fight against the Roman Empire as an independent political and military force.
Whether the Goths extended their power to the Slavic tribes remains unknown exactly. True, among the tribes allegedly subject to King Germanaric, Jordan calls "powerful in their numbers", but non-belligerent Venets 3 . But here it is also said that "Germanaric, the noblest (146) of the Amals, ... conquered many very warlike northern peoples", among which appear tiuds (chud), merens (merya), mordens (Mordva). “He conquered with his wisdom and valor the people of the Estonians, who live in a very large area along the coast of the German ocean, and he also commanded all the peoples of Scythia and Germany, as if they were his own servants.” In a word, Jordanes expanded Germanarich's possessions in Eastern Europe, obviously, to the extent that his geographical knowledge allowed him, not at all taking into account the real historical reality.
More plausible is the story of the war between Vinitar and the Antes, given by Jordanes under 375. After the death of Germanaric Ostrogothic king Vinitar, "seeking to show his own prowess," moved great power within the ante. “In the first clash, he was defeated, but then he led the case bravely and, for the sake of a terrifying example, crucified their leader, by the name of God, with his sons and 70 senior nobles, the corpses of the hanged, as a terrible example, doubled the fear of those who submitted” 4. A. A. Shakhmatov compared one interesting passage from the Tale of Igor's Campaign with the name of the Antian tsar or leader God: “Behold, the red Gothic maidens hurried across the blue sea, ringing with Russian gold: they sing the time of Busovo, cherish revenge on Sharokan ... ", seeing here the traces of an old Slavic legend about the war of God - Bus with the Goths 5 .
Germanaric and Vinitar, who fought with the Ants, were already living on the eve of the collapse of the Gothic tribal union. Therefore, it would be more correct to consider the relationship between the Antes and the Goths not as the subordination of the first to the second, but as a struggle between them. It remains, however, unknown where those Antes lived, whom the Gothic kings sought to subjugate. Vinitar's campaigns, undertaken in the context of the Hun invasions, in any case, could not have been particularly distant. His meetings with God probably took place somewhere in the Middle Dnieper or the Bug region. Here, probably somewhere to the east of the Dnieper, the Rosomones mentioned above also lived, possibly being part of the Antian association of tribes.
Especially great importance in the fate of the Slavic tribes in the Gothic and Hunnic times had the fact that in the III century. n. e. Slavic tribes of the Dnieper and Carpathian regions were largely isolated from the northeastern provinces of the Roman Empire. Economic and (147) cultural connections with the south, which arose back in the Scythian time, almost continuously operating for a millennium and becoming, it would seem, an integral element way of life local population, at first they were seriously disturbed, and then, in the Hunnic time, they almost completely broke off. We had to find new directions economic relations and new ways of cultural ties.
Regular cultural ties with the south began to break as early as the beginning of the 3rd century. n. e. The flow of Roman silver to the north declined markedly during the time of Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211). M. Yu. Braychevsky in his work “Finds of Roman coins on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR” indicates that the vast majority of Roman coins found in the area of “burial fields” belong to the 1st-2nd centuries. n. e. For the period from Nero to Septimius Severus, 541 finds out of a total of 679 fall. According to M. Yu. began to “spoil” their coin by minting low-grade silver, but mainly by the fact that in the Northern Black Sea region there was a new environment- the situation of the ongoing armed struggle of local tribes with Rome 1 .
Together with a Roman coin from the 3rd c. glassware and other products of Roman provincial imports disappear from use. Little by little, the Roman province lost its role as a trendsetter. Archaeological data convincingly show how in the culture of the tribes of the Middle Dnieper and Carpathian regions, the provincial-Roman hue gradually lost and their own traditions grew and strengthened. own traits culture. It is interesting to note that at the same time, many old motifs in art were revived and blossomed, as it were: massive decorations, animal style and etc.
It all throws bright light on the essence of the Roman "cultural influence", on the role of Rome in the development of the economic and cultural life of the Slavic and other tribes. As is known, in bourgeois literature the notion of the beneficial influence of Rome on neighboring tribes reigns supreme. In the writings of bourgeois historians, one can come across an indication that Rome awakened the dormant forces of its neighbors, introduced them to its high culture. If not for Rome, these historians argue, European tribes would still long time would be in a state of barbarism and cultural stagnation.
These views, however, are by no means objective. They are nothing more than an apology for colonial (148) expansion carried over into the distant past. They proceed from the false idea that the European tribes, which until that time had come a long way of independent development, suddenly stopped for some reason, began to stagnate and were able to move forward only with the help of Rome.
In fact, the influence of Rome on neighboring tribes was extremely one-sided. Pumping out huge wealth from its northern neighbors: bread, cattle, skins, fish, amber, and, most importantly, drawing forced labor from their midst - hundreds of thousands of slaves, Rome contributed to the development of the local economy only in its own interests, depleting the forces and means of its neighbors and giving them in return what was of little value: fabrics, wine, jewelry. These were relations of a "colonial" nature, when one of the partners inevitably turned out to be at a loss.
That is why the violation of economic ties with the Roman world in the III century. n. e. led the Slavic tribes by no means to the decline of economic and cultural life, but, on the contrary, to its growth and flourishing: to the further development of local crafts, to the establishment of local economic ties, to the revival of local cultural traditions. Domestic economic and cultural forces freed themselves from the “beneficial” Roman influence that hindered their growth, and their development quickly went forward.
Local cultural traditions received a particularly vivid expression in objects of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic style that existed in the Middle Dnieper region since the 6th century. The so-called finger brooches and other items of the same nature clearly reveal the living traditions of the local art of the Scythian-Sarmatian period. Particularly reminiscent of the art of the Scythian pores were bronze items that took place in large numbers from the Pastersky settlement near the city of Smela, as well as from other places in the Middle Dnieper region 2 . They are stylized images of a female and sometimes a male figure, animals and various birds (Fig. 35). One researcher attributed these objects to the beginning of BC. e. and even almost to the Scythian era - they are so similar to the ancient ones, while in reality the time of their distribution was the 6th-7th centuries. n. e. 3
At one time, among archaeologists, there was a widespread opinion about the disappearance of the potter's wheel in the Middle Dnieper in the 5th-6th centuries, shared, in particular, by the author of these lines. (149)
At present, as a result of the work of Ukrainian archaeologists, the fallacy of this opinion is obvious. Third quarter of the 1st millennium AD. e., when on the Middle Dnieper metallurgical production of a handicraft nature made big step forward, was a time of growth for all other branches of local handicraft production. Pottery was no exception here, which is confirmed by the materials of both "burial fields" and settlements. The spread of coarse hand-made earthenware in some areas of the Middle Dnieper during this period is by no means explained by the regression of local pottery, but by the penetration into the local environment of settlers from more northern regions who did not use the potter's wheel.
Rice. 35. Ornaments of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic style from the Middle Dnieper region (VI - VII centuries AD).
In the middle of the first millennium A.D. e. as a result of further growth in production, the economic and cultural ties of the tribes of the Middle Dnieper region with the northern Slavic regions began to be significantly strengthened, which had old story and reflecting primarily the growing internal needs both southern and northern Slavic tribes. Evidence of these increased ties are numerous objects of Middle Dnieper origin, found not only in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, but also on the Oka and Upper Volga, where they had a noticeable impact on local production. Slavic tribes.
The relationship between the Middle Dnieper and the North was especially strengthened in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e., when, as a result of the invasion of the Huns, the traditional ties of the southern tribes with the Black Sea region were violated. Decades of Hun campaigns disrupted the course of life in vast areas of the European continent and led to numerous movements of tribes. The ancient Slavic tribes of the Middle Dnieper region by no means escaped the common fate. Although contemporaries, speaking of the Huns, do not mention in connection with them either the Veneti or the Antes, but there is no doubt that the latter experienced the force of the weapons of the new owners of the Black Sea steppes and were drawn into the maelstrom of the Hunnic policy.
To confirm such conclusions, they usually resort to the memoirs of the Byzantine Priscus, who personally visited Attila's headquarters in 448 as part of the embassy of Emperor Theodosius II, headed by Senator Maximinus 1 . They indicate that Priscom recorded among the Huns such Slavic words, like honey (medos) and kvass (cavas - from barley), that the word strava (strava - feast for the deceased) belongs to the same time, that only the Slavs could allegedly build Attila's wooden palace, that many of the customs that Prisk observed during of their journey, remind Slavic norms of life, etc. An exhaustive selection of such facts, far from impartial, however, was made in his time by I. E. Zabelin, who tried to prove the Slavic nature of the Huns 2 .
All these indirect evidence are, of course, very shaky and unconvincing, but they acquire some weight in the light of archaeological data showing that in the 4th-5th centuries, when Attila's generals went to Scythia to punish some recalcitrant tribes, some areas The Middle Dnieper and Northern Carpathians were severely destroyed.
As already mentioned above, archeology at one time was dominated by the idea that the “burial fields” in the region of the Middle Dnieper did not at all contain burials later than the beginning of the 5th century. and that at the same time the settlements corresponding to them ceased to exist. It was assumed that the people who left the "fields" and settlements disappeared somewhere: they left or were destroyed. Subsequent studies have made significant adjustments to these assumptions. It turned out that many "burial fields" of the Middle Dnieper continued to serve as cemeteries at the end of the 5th, in the 6th, and sometimes (151) in the 7th-8th centuries. These were the “burial fields” explored in recent years near Volintsevo in the Putivl region, in the Lan area near the village of. Sosnitsy at the mouth of the Seim, known for a long time "field" near the village. Small Budki near Romen, as well as a number of points in the Dniester region 1 . The study of the remains of settlements also made it possible to establish that life in these places in the 4th-5th centuries. by no means died down, but continued without interruption in the following centuries. But at the same time, it turned out that many "burial fields" and settlements really did not function after the 4th - beginning of the 5th century, and in a number of places bordering the steppe, in particular on the Left Bank of the Dnieper, these facts are established, apparently, as mass phenomenon. So, for example, as a result of systematic studies of the settlements of the “burial fields” in the Vorskla basin, I. I. Lyapushkin came to the conclusion that they all ceased to exist in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. 2 Whether these regions bordering on the steppe were severely devastated as a result of military raids by nomads, or whether the population, foreseeing the danger, left them in advance, or, finally, both took place - they will show further research. But one way or another, a significant outflow of population from the region of the Middle Dnieper, undoubtedly associated with the Hun expansion, is beyond doubt.
Archaeological data also make it possible to establish in what direction and in what places this ebb of the Slavic population went. From the region of the Middle Dnieper, and probably from Transnistria, a significant number of the population undoubtedly moved north at that time, just as it happened more than once in the Middle Ages during periods of intensified raids of nomads.
It is no coincidence that most of the late “burial fields” known today in the area of the Dnieper Left Bank were found in northern regions- in the upper reaches of the Sula and on the Seimas, where population flows from more southern regions were probably directed.
All these phenomena contributed to the further strengthening of ties between the southern and northern East Slavic tribes. It has been repeatedly suggested in the literature that it was in this military-political situation that the beginning of tribal union ants. (152)
The Huns are nomadic tribes that at one time moved from Asia to Europe. Well, that's all the knowledge about the Huns that most people have. But you can tell a lot of interesting things about them, this is what the article is devoted to.
Who are the Huns?
These tribes begin their history from the 3rd century BC. e. Historians connect the origin of the Huns from the Hun tribes that lived in the territory modern China on the banks of the Yellow River. The Huns are a people of Asian origin who were the first to create a nomadic empire in Central Asia. History says that in 48 BC. e. The Huns were divided into two clans: Southern and Northern. The Northern Huns were defeated in the war against China, their association broke up, and the remaining nomads migrated to the west. The connection between the Huns and the Huns can be traced by studying the heritage of material culture. For both nationalities, the use of onions was characteristic. However, at present ethnicity Huns is doubtful.
In different time periods, the word "Huns" pops up in history books, but this name most often denotes ordinary nomads who lived in Europe until the Middle Ages. In the present, the Huns are conquering tribes who founded the great empire of Atilla and provoked the Great Migration of Nations, thereby accelerating the course of historical events.
Tribal Invasion
It was believed that the Huns, under the onslaught of the emperor of the Han Dynasty, were forced to leave their native lands and go west. Along the way, the refugees conquered the tribes they came across and included them in their horde. In 370, the Huns crossed the Volga, at that moment they included the Mongols, Ugrians, Turkic and Iranian tribes.
From that moment on, the Huns begin to be mentioned in the annals. Most often they are spoken of as barbarian invaders, without denying their strength and cruelty. Nomadic tribes become the main root cause of important historical events. Even today, historians argue about where the Huns really came from. Some insist that these tribes were the ancestors of the Slavs and have nothing to do with Asia. Although at the same time the Turks claim that the Huns were Turks, and the Mongols say: "The Huns are the Mongols."
As a result of the research, it was only possible to find out that the Huns are close to the Mongol-Manchurian peoples, as evidenced by the similarity of names and culture. However, no one is in a hurry to refute or confirm this with 100% certainty.
But no one belittles the role of the Huns in history. It is worth noting the features of the invasion of the Hun tribes into enemy territories. Their attacks were unexpected, like an avalanche, and the tactics of warfare introduced the enemy into complete confusion. Nomadic tribes did not engage in close combat, they simply surrounded the enemies and showered them with arrows, while constantly moving from place to place. The enemy fell into bewilderment, and then the Huns finished him off, leaning on the whole cavalry. If it came to hand-to-hand combat, could skillfully wield swords, while the soldiers did not think about their safety - they rushed into battle without sparing themselves. Their furious raids took the Romans by surprise, the tribes of the Northern Black Sea region, the Goths, the Iranians and representatives of other nationalities, who became part of a large Hunnic union.
Captured lands
For the first time, the Huns are mentioned in the annals of 376, when they captured the Alans of the North Caucasus. Later, they attacked the state of Germanarich and completely defeated it, which provoked the beginning of the Great Migration of Nations. During their reign in Europe, the Huns conquered a significant part of the Ostrogoth tribes, and the Visigoths were pushed back to Thrace.
In 395, the tribes of the Huns crossed the Caucasus and set foot on the lands of Syria. The leader of the Huns at that time was King Balamber. Literally in a matter of months, this state was completely devastated, and the invader tribes settled in Austria and Pannonia. Pannonia became the center of the future empire of the Huns. It was a starting point, with which they began to attack the Eastern Roman Empire. As for the Western Roman Empire, the tribes of the Huns up to the middle of the 5th century were their allies in the wars against the Germanic tribes.
From Rugil to Atilla
All inhabitants of the conquered lands were forced to take part in military campaigns and pay taxes. By the beginning of 422, the Huns again attacked Thrace. Fearing war, the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire began to pay tribute to the leader of the Huns.
After 10 years, Rugila (the leader of the Huns) began to threaten the Roman Empire in breaking the peace agreements. The reason for this behavior was the fugitives who were hiding in the territory of the Roman state. However, Rugila did not carry out his plan, and died during the negotiations. The new rulers were the nephews of the late leader: Bleda and Attila.
In 445, under unclear circumstances, Bleda died while hunting. Historians speculate that he may have been killed by Attila. However, this fact has not been confirmed. From that moment on, Atilla is the leader of the Huns. He entered the pages of history as a cruel and great commander who wiped out all of Europe from the face of the earth.
The empire of the Huns acquired the greatest greatness in 434-453 under the leader Atilla. During his reign, the tribes of Bulgars, Heruls, Geids, Sarmatians, Goths and other Germanic tribes retreated to the Huns.
Attila's reign
During the sole reign of Attila, the state of the Huns grew to an incredible size. This was the merit of their ruler. Atilla (the leader of the Huns) lived on the territory of modern Hungary. From this place, his power extended to the Caucasus (east), the Rhine (west), the Danish Isles (north) and the Danube (south).
Atilla forced Theodosius I (the ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire) to continue paying tribute to him. He devastated Thrace, Media, Illyria, subjugated the right bank of the Danube. Having reached the borders of Constantinople, he forced the emperor to pay off military operations and provide the Huns with the land of the country on the southern bank of the Danube.
Having settled in Constantinople, Atilla goes to Valentine the Third, the ruler of Western Rome, with a request to give his sister for him. However, the ruler of the Western Empire refuses such an alliance. Insulted by the refusal, Atilla gathers an army and begins to move west. The leader of the Huns passes through Germany, having crossed the Rhine, destroyed Trier, Arras and many other cities.
In the autumn of 451, a grandiose battle of peoples began on the Cataluan Plain. It can even be assumed that this was the first large-scale battle in the history of our era. In this confrontation, the advance of the Huns was stopped by the united army of the Roman empires.
Death of Attila
Under King Atilla, a large political education, in which until the 6th century the main part of the population was made up of Sarmatians, Huns and other tribes. All of them obeyed a single ruler. In 452 Attila's Huns entered Italy. Under the threat of military conflict were such cities as Milan and Aquileia. However, the troops retreat back to their territories. In 453, Attila dies, and due to misunderstandings about the new leader, the Gepids attack the Huns, who led the uprising of the tribes of Germany. Starting from 454, the power of the Huns turns into a historical past. This year, in the confrontation at the Nedao River, they are being forced out in the Black Sea region.
In 469, the Huns make their last attempt to break into the Balkan Peninsula, but they are stopped. They gradually begin to mix with other tribes arriving from the east, and the state of the Huns ceases to exist.
housekeeping
The history of the Huns began and ended suddenly, in a short period of time an entire empire was formed, which conquered almost all of Europe, and just as quickly it disappeared, mixing with other tribes that came to explore new lands. However, even this small gap was enough for the Huns to create their own culture, religion and way of life.
Their main occupation, like most tribes, was cattle breeding, as the Chinese historian Sonya Qiang says. Tribes constantly moved from place to place, lived in mobile yurts. The main diet consisted of meat and koumiss. Clothes were made from wool.
Wars were an important part of life, the main objective which consisted initially in the capture of prey, and then in the subordination of new tribes. In peacetime, the Huns simply followed the cattle, hunting birds and animals along the way.
Nomadic pastoralism consisted of all kinds of domestic animals, including the two-humped camel and the donkey. Special attention devoted directly to horse breeding. It was not only a reserve for military operations, but a kind of confirmation social status. The larger the number of horses, the more honorable the nomad.
During the heyday of the Hun empire, cities were founded where the inhabitants could lead a settled way of life. As a result of the excavations, it was clear that the tribes were engaged in agriculture for some time, and special places were created in the cities for storing grain.
In fact, the Huns were nomadic tribes and were engaged in cattle breeding, but the presence of small pockets of a settled way of farming should not be discounted. Within the state, these two ways of life harmoniously existed.
The social side of life
The Hun tribes had a difficult for that time social organization. The head of the country was Shany, the so-called "son of heaven" with unlimited power.
The Huns were divided into clans (clans), of which there were 24. At the head of each of them were "managers of generations." At the beginning wars of conquest it was the managers who divided the new lands among themselves, later the shanyoi began to do this, and the managers became simple bosses over the horsemen, who numbered 10 thousand each.
In the army, everything was also not so simple. The temnik was responsible for the appointment of thousanders and centurions, as well as for the distribution of land between them. On the other hand, reinforced central authority did not turn the empire into a monarchy or autocracy. On the contrary, in society there were popular assemblies and a council of elders. Three times a year the Huns gathered in one of the cities of their empire to make a sacrifice to Heaven. On such days, the heads of generations discussed the policy of the state, watched horse races or camel races.
It was noted that there were aristocrats in the society of the Huns, all of them were connected by marriage alliances with each other.
But, since there were many conquered tribes in the empire, who were forcibly adapted to the society of the Huns, slavery flourished in some places. Slaves were mostly prisoners. They were left in the cities and forced to help in agriculture, construction or crafts.
The heads of the Hun state had a plan to unite all peoples, although the Chinese and ancient sources constantly make them barbarians. After all, if they had not become a catalyst for the Great Migration of Nations in Europe, then it is likely that the crisis and the slave-owning mode of production would have dragged on for several more centuries.
Cultural Organization Segment
The culture of the Huns takes its continuation from the tribes of the Saxons, includes their main elements and continues to develop. Iron products were common among these tribes. The nomads knew how to use a loom, processed wood and began to trade in handicrafts.
The tribes developed material culture and military affairs. Since the Huns hunted for raids on other states, they had a highly developed wall-beating technique, which helped to crush the fortifications.
The Huns are a nomadic people. However, even in the world of perpetual motion, there were settled agricultural oases that were used as winter quarters. Some settlements were well fortified and could serve as a military fortress.
One of the historians, describing the refuge of Attila, said that his settlement was large, like a city. The houses were made of wood. The boards were nailed to each other so tightly that it was impossible to see the joints.
Their fellow tribesmen were buried on the banks of rivers. On the sites of nomadic camps, mounds were built, enclosed in a circle with a fence. Weapons and horses were "buried" together with the dead. But more attention was given to the Hun mausoleums - groups of mounds with underground chambers. In such mounds, not only weapons were left, but jewelry, ceramics and even food.
As for rock carvings, the most common are drawings of a swan, a bull and a deer. These animals had their sacred meaning. It was believed that the bull is the personification of power. The deer brings prosperity and shows the way to wanderers. The swan was the keeper of the hearth.
The art of the Hun tribes is directly related to the artistic style of the Saxons, however, they more attention they pay inlay, and the animal style remains unchanged until the 3rd century, when polychrome monuments come to replace it.
Religion
Like every self-respecting state, the Hun empire had its own religion. Their main god was Tengri - the deity of Heaven. The nomads were animists, revered the spirits of Heaven and the forces of nature. Protective amulets were made of gold and silver, images of animals, mainly dragons, were engraved on the plates.
The Huns did not bring human sacrifice, but they had idols cast from silver. Religious beliefs implied the presence of priests, sorcerers and healers. It was not uncommon to meet shamans in the ruling elite of the Huns. Their duty was to determine the auspicious months of the year.
Characteristic of their religion was also the deification of heavenly bodies, elements and roads. Horses were offered as blood sacrifices. All religious ceremonies were accompanied by military duels that were required attribute any event. In addition, when someone died, as a sign of grief, the Huns were obliged to inflict wounds on themselves.
The role of the Huns in history
The Hun invasion had big influence to the course of historical events. Unexpected raids on the tribes of Western Europe were the main catalyst that provoked changes in the situation of the nomads. The destruction of the Ostrogoths prevented the possibility of the Germanization of the Sklavens of Europe. The Alans withdrew to the west, and the Iranian tribes of Eastern Europe were weakened. All this testifies to only one thing - only the Turks and Sclavens influenced the further development of historical events.
It can even be said that the leader of the Huns, having invaded Europe, liberated the Eastern Proto-Slavs from the Goths, Iranians, Alans and their influence on the development of culture. The Sclaven troops were used by the Huns as an auxiliary reserve for military campaigns.
During the reign of Attila, the territory of the Huns occupied unimaginable areas. Stretching from the Volga to the Rhine, the empire of the Hun conquerors reaches its maximum expansion. But when Attila dies, the great power disintegrates.
In many sources that describe historical events Middle Ages, the Huns are called different nomadic tribes that are found in different parts of Eurasia. However, no one has been able to prove their relationship with the European Huns. In some publications, the word is interpreted simply as a term meaning "nomadic tribe". Only in 1926, K. A. Inostrantsev introduced the concept of "Huns" to designate the European tribes of the state of Atilla.
Thus, in the end, only one thing can be said: the Huns are not only nomadic tribes with an irresistible thirst for power, but also key figures of their era, which caused many historical changes.
Goths and Huns also visited the Crimean land. On the borders of the vast Roman Empire, it was necessary to restrain the onslaught of barbarian tribes. Late 2nd century Germanic tribe ready to start moving from the coast Baltic Sea to the southeast. This event marked the beginning of the era of the Great Migration of Nations.
The Goths and one of the Sarmatian tribes, the Alans, invaded the Crimea. Almost simultaneous destruction of almost all the settlements of the Crimean Scythia is evidenced archaeologically. The Goths and Alans ravaged the environs of Chersonese, but the defenders managed to defend the city itself. The multi-tribal Gothic union became the master of the Northern Black Sea region for more than a century. Thousands of captives and countless treasures became the prey of the barbarians.
Part of the Alans and Goths settled in the South-Western Crimea. They were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Scholars note differences in their funeral rites. The Alans buried their dead in a crouched position in specially shaped pits.
The Goths, on the other hand, burned their dead tribesmen, and buried the ashes in ceramic vessels. Characteristic of Gothic burials are various items decorated with an eagle's head with a strongly curved beak. Gradually, Christianity began to spread among the Goths.
The heyday of the power of the Black Sea Goths falls on the middle of the 4th century. By this time, they had created a huge power that subjugated all the surrounding tribes. But soon the dominion of the Gothic kings in the Northern Black Sea region came to an end.
At the end of the 4th century, the invasion of nomads begins - the Huns, who came from the steppes of Central Asia. They were born riders. Starting the battle, the Huns showered the enemies with clouds of arrows, and then with desperate courage they seized in close combat. The Goths could not resist a strong enemy. Some of them submitted to the gunas, while others went on the run. In the Crimea, the Goths and Alans found refuge in the mountains of the peninsula. The place of their new settlement later became known as Gothia.
After passing through the Crimea, the Huns moved west, ruining the Roman provinces. Mortal danger forced the various European peoples. For about 100 years, the struggle went on with mixed success. But in the second half of the 5th century, having suffered a crushing defeat from the Germans, the Huns retreated back to the steppes of the Black Sea region and to the Crimea. The conquerors penetrated even into the mountainous part of the peninsula, pushing the Alans, Goths, and. Chersonese managed to survive, but life in a hostile environment was full of hardships and dangers.
Under the blows of the Goths and the Huns, the great Roman Empire collapsed. Its eastern part, separated in 395, existed as an independent state for more than a thousand years. Modern historians call this state byzantine empire, or simply Byzantium. Importance Byzantium betrayed, which at that time began to be called Kherson.
The favorable location of the city made it possible to control the barbarian peoples of the Northern Black Sea region and prevent their invasion of the empire. In 488 Kherson was destroyed strong earthquake. Emperor Zeno allocated a large sum for its restoration. To protect Kherson and the agricultural population of the Southwestern Crimea, Byzantium built fortresses, now called "cave cities". The main cave cities are Mangup, Eski-Kermen, Chufut-Kale and Bakla, Kyz-Kermen and Tepe-Kermen, the Syuren fortress and Kalamita.
