Vikings & Russians & Mongols!!Oh My!!!

AKS 33e & 33g

33e - Explain the influence of the Byzantine Empire and Vikings on Russia with particular

attention to its impact on Tsar Ivan III and Kiev

• Slavs - people from the forests north of the Black Sea.

• Byzantium sent Missionaries to convert the Slavs.– Saint Methodius

and Saint Cyril invented the Cyrillic alphabet (Slavic Alphabet).

Missionaries Reach the Slavs

• Byzantine trade w/ Slavs:– Slavs began absorbing many Greek Byzantine

ways.– This blending of Slavic and Greek traditions

eventually produced Russian culture.

Vikings Find the Slavs

• 800s: Vikings settled among the Slavs along river banks.– Also known as the

Rus.• The name “Russia” is

taken from this group.

Vikings Find the Slavs• 862: Slavs invited Viking Chief Rurik to be king

of the Slavs.– Founded Novgorod, Russia’s first important city.– “Novgorod” translates into “New Town” in Russian.

Vikings Find the Slavs

• 880: Oleg moved south to the city of Kiev (KEE-ehf).

• From here, the Vikings could sail by river and sea to Constantinople where they could trade for products from distant lands.

• Kiev became a Principality:– Ruled by a prince.

• Slavs and Vikings started to marry one another and the line between the two vanished.

Princess Olga• Princess Olga:

– 957: Visited Constantinople and publicly converted to Christianity.

– 945-964: She ruled until her son was old enough.

• Her son resisted Christianity.

Vladimir

• 980: Princess Olga’s grandson, Vladimir, came to the throne.

• He sent out teams to observe the major religions of the times.– 3 teams came back

with lukewarm accounts of Islam, Judaism, & Western Christianity.

“The Greeks led us to the (buildings) where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in

heaven or on earth.For on earth there is no such splendor

or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it.

We only know that God dwells there among men, and . . . We cannot

forget that beauty”~ The Primary Chronicle ~

Baptism of Kiev

• 989: a baptism of all the citizens of Kiev was held in a local river.

• Kiev now was linked to Byzantium through trade and for religious guidance.

Kievan Russia

• Russia’s first important unified territory.

• Vladimir expanded Kiev territory into Poland and north almost to the Baltic Sea.

• Fought off nomads from the steppes to the South.

Kievan Russia• 1019 Vladimir’s son,

Yaroslav the Wise came to the throne & led Kiev to even greater glory.– Married off daughters in

order to form trade alliances.

– Created a legal code.– Built first library in Kiev.– Christianity prospered. – Kiev home to 400

churches.

Kiev’s Decline• 1054: Yaroslav the Wise

Died.– Buried in Saint Sophia

Cathedral• Yaroslav’s Crucial Error:

– He split Kiev among his sons instead of handing it ALL to his eldest son.

– The sons tore the state apart fighting for the best territories.

The Crusades

• 1095: The Crusades – the numerous clashes between Christians & Muslims for control of the Holy Lands of the Middle East.

• Added to Kiev’s troubles by disrupting trade.– Then a NEW threat emerged: THE

MONGOLS!!!